Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Bioactive Peptides from Chinese Herbal Medicine: A Review.

Inflammation is a pathological process implicated in a wide range of diseases, and is orchestrated by complex regulatory networks at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. A growing body of evidence supports the understanding that numerous natural compounds exhibit robust anti-inflammatory activity, structural diversity, low toxicity, and minimal side effects. These qualities make them promising leads for therapeutic development.

Preoperative prediction of lymph node metastasis in adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction using CT texture analysis combined with machine learning.

This study aims to construct a noninvasive preoperative prediction model for lymph node metastasis in adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG) using computed tomography (CT) texture characterization and machine learning. We analyzed clinical and imaging data from 57 patients with preoperative CT enhancement scans and pathologically confirmed AEG. Lesions were delineated, and texture features were extracted from arterial phase and venous phase CT images using 3D-Slicer software.

A retrospective analysis of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in pneumonectomy for locally advanced central non-small cell lung cancer.

Aims: The treatment of patients with locally advanced central non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients undergoing pneumonectomy.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who underwent pneumonectomy with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced central NSCLC between 2014 and 2019.

An Epigenetic Nanoagonist Facilitates T Cell Priming, Recruitment, and Reinvigoration in Tumors Resistant to PD-L1 Therapy.

Inefficient priming, poor recruitment, and inadequate reinvigoration of T cells challenges the therapy of PD-L1-resistant tumors. Herein, a pH-responsive charge-reversal nanoplatform integrating coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARM1) inhibitor (iCARM1) and poliovirus receptor siRNA (siPVR) is developed. Upon tumor penetration, iCARM1 released in tumor cells facilitates T cell priming by epigenetically activating cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling-mediated dendritic cell maturation.

Clinical Effectiveness and Safety of Reduced-Dose Prasugrel in Asian Patients: The PROMISE-TW Registry.

Reduced-dose prasugrel is widely used in East Asia for acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but real-world data in diverse Asian populations are limited. This study evaluated its effectiveness and safety in Taiwanese patients. The PROMISE-TW Registry was a multicenter, retrospective study including 1167 patients with ACS or chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) treated with reduced-dose prasugrel (20 mg loading, 3.

scOTM: A Deep Learning Framework for Predicting Single-Cell Perturbation Responses with Large Language Models.

Modeling drug-induced transcriptional responses at the single-cell level is essential for advancing human healthcare, particularly in understanding disease mechanisms, assessing therapeutic efficacy, and anticipating adverse effects. However, existing approaches often impose a rigid constraint by enforcing pointwise alignment of latent representations to a standard normal prior, which limits expressiveness and results in biologically uninformative embeddings, especially in complex biological systems. Additionally, many methods inadequately address the challenges of unpaired data, typically relying on naive averaging strategies that ignore cell-type specificity and intercellular heterogeneity.

Ozone Pollution in the Western Yangtze River Delta During the 2020 and 2021 Warm Seasons: Roles of Meteorology and Air Mass Transport.

Surface ozone (O), a key hurdle in air quality improvement in China, often displays regional pollution characteristics. This study investigated the influence of meteorological conditions and air mass transport on O and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) concentrations in Nanjing, located in the western Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region of China during April-September of 2020 and 2021 based on online observations of O and its precursors and meteorological conditions, backward-trajectory analysis, and an observation-based box model (OBM). O concentrations rose with temperature, albeit non-linearly.

From Visualization to Mechanism: Uncovering Early Fouling Dynamics in Nanofiltration through LIF Experiments.

Early fouling in nanofiltration membranes critically impacts long-term performance and operational efficiency, yet its dynamic evolution remains poorly understood due to limitations in real-time characterization. This study employs laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technology to visualize and quantify the spatiotemporal development of early fouling during the initial 120 min of filtration. Combined with discrete phase model (DPM) simulations, the work reveals how cross-flow velocity and transmembrane pressure modulate early fouling behavior.

Arthropod adiponectin receptor-like proteins and microbial persistence.

Arthropod-borne diseases, caused by diverse pathogens, are global public health threats. Recent studies show that adiponectin receptor-like proteins in vectors such as Anopheles gambiae, Aedes aegypti, and Ixodes scapularis influence transmission of diseases such as malaria, Zika virus, and Lyme disease. These receptors could be novel targets for controlling vector-borne diseases.

The Efficacy of Aromatherapy on Pain and Anxiety During Needle-Related Procedures in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Pain and anxiety resulting from needle-related manipulation are major causes of patient refusal and missed optimal treatment. This study focuses on assessing the effectiveness and benefits of aromatherapy in adult patients undergoing needle-related manipulation for pain and anxiety.

Methods: The researchers conducted detailed searches of a total of five databases, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase Databases, and Scopus, from the period of the library's construction until November 23, 2024.

Review on Current Research on Biosynthesis of Biosurfactants and the Regulation Influenced by Metal Ions.

Biosurfactants, amphiphilic secondary metabolites mainly produced by microorganisms, can be categorized into five groups according to their chemical structure and source: glycolipids, lipopeptides, phospholipids, polymeric biosurfactants, and particulate surfactants. The hydrophobic segments of biosurfactants typically contain fatty acids of varying chain lengths, while their hydrophilic portions display a wide range of diversity. Diverse biosurfactants have distinct metabolic pathways.

Technetium-99m-Labeled Fibroblast Activation Protein-Targeted Nanobody Radiotracer: from Preclinical Development to Clinical Translation in Cancer Imaging.

Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a highly expressed marker in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) across various epithelial cancers, making it an attractive target for diagnostic imaging. To address the limitations of existing FAP-targeted radiopharmaceuticals, such as poor tumor retention and off-target uptake, this study aimed to establish a comprehensive FAP nanobody library. Through systematic screening, we sought to identify a nanobody with cross-reactivity to both human and murine FAP, optimized for technetium-99m (Tc) labeling, and suitable for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging.

Trimethylamine--Oxide Affects Cell Type-Specific Pathways and Networks in Mouse Aorta to Promote Atherosclerotic Plaque Vulnerability.

Background: Trimethylamine--oxide (TMAO) has been significantly linked to atherosclerosis via several mechanisms, but its direct effect on the atherosclerosis-prone vasculature remains unclear. The objective of this study was to characterize the cell type-dependent and independent effects of TMAO on key vascular cell types involved in atherosclerosis progression in vivo.

Methods: We performed single-cell RNA-sequencing on aortic athero-prone regions of female mice fed normal laboratory, high-cholesterol, or high-cholesterol+TMAO diets for 3 months to identify which aortic cell types, differentially expressed genes, and biological pathways are affected by TMAO.

Overcoming ovarian cancer resistance and evasion to CAR-T cell therapy by harnessing allogeneic CAR-NKT cells.

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) poses a significant challenge for conventional chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T (CAR-T) cell therapy, due to frequent recurrence linked to tumor heterogeneity, platinum resistance, immune evasion, and an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME).

Methods: Here, we analyze primary OC patient samples and identify a unique opportunity for allogeneic CAR-NKT (CAR-NKT) cells to concurrently attack OC tumor cells and their TME. Leveraging stem cell gene engineering and a clinically guided culture method, we achieve robust generation of CAR-NKT cells at high yield and purity.

Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier Differentially Controls the Self-Renewal and Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Mitochondria are crucial for cell fate determination, yet their roles in human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) fate changes have remained underexplored. Here, we designed a CRISPR library targeting 661 mitochondrial proteins and identified the MPC (mitochondrial pyruvate carrier) as a critical regulator of hPSC self-renewal and pluripotency. Notably, MPC inhibition reduced hPSC self-renewal and endoderm differentiation while promoting mesoderm differentiation, with no effect on ectoderm differentiation, all mediated by influencing glycolytic acetyl-CoA production.

Machine Learning-Assisted Prediction of Mercury Removal Efficiency of Carbon-Based Adsorbents.

Adsorbent injection is the most promising technology for solving anthropogenic mercury (mainly Hg) emission from stationary sources. Carbon-based adsorbents have strong potential for Hg removal due to their high specific surface area and abundant functional groups. However, traditional experimental methods focus on a single adsorbent under specific mercury removal conditions, making it difficult to obtain universal influencing laws and optimal preparation methods for the adsorbents.

Coherent combination of mid-IR laser beams using a Sagnac-type interferometer.

We report a high-efficiency coherent beam combination (CBC) system operating in the mid-infrared (2.8 µm) spectral region, implemented using two fluoride fiber amplifiers with a configuration of Sagnac-type interferometer. The system exhibits good performance at both continuous-wave (CW) and picosecond-pulse operation conditions.

Cathepsin L and transmembrane serine protease 11E mediate trypsin-independent entry of porcine deltacoronavirus into Huh7 cells.

Unlabelled: Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is an emerging enteric coronavirus with zoonotic potential. Previous studies showed that PDCoV productive infection is dependent on exogenous trypsin in porcine-derived cells. In this study, we found that trypsin appears to be dispensable for PDCoV infection in human-derived cell lines.

Comparing the psychological benefits that Chinese and Western classical music preferences bring to cognitive emotion regulation, self-esteem, and psychological resilience.

Introduction: This study investigates the effects of preferences for Chinese and Western classical music on three key psychological constructs in adults: cognitive emotion regulation, self-esteem, and psychological resilience. Guided by the World Health Organization's principles of mental health, the research aims to explore how preferences for these distinct musical traditions relate to individual psychological well-being.

Methods: The study analyzed data from 604 valid responses collected through questionnaires, supplemented by behavioral observations, to examine the impact of classical music preferences on the targeted psychological outcomes.

A Novel PSMA/FAP-Specific Radiotracer Tc-HFaPSMA for Diagnosis of PSMA-Negative Prostate Cancer: From Preclinical Validation to Clinical Translation.

In this study, we reported a bispecific radiotracer [Tc]Tc-HFaPSMA to improve the diagnostic sensitivity of prostate cancer (PCa). [Tc]Tc-HFaPSMA was prepared by Tc radiolabeling of a HYNIC-conjugated bispecific biomolecule HFaPSMA, which combines a PSMA-targeting motif (PhPSMA), a FAP-targeting ligand (GFAPI), a symmetric PEG-N-bis(PEG-acid) linker, and a chelator (HYNIC). Preclinical studies showed faster clearance and higher tumor uptake than that of its corresponding single-target radiotracers ([Tc]Tc-HPSMA and [Tc]Tc-HGFAPI).

Pharmacovigilance of obeticholic acid: An analysis of the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System database.

Aims: Obeticholic acid (OCA) is a farnesoid X nuclear receptor agonist that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2016 for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the adverse events (AEs) associated with OCA.

Methods: We extracted data from the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database from the second quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2025.

Discovery of novel microtubule destabilizing agents via virtual screening methods and antitumor evaluation.

Background And Objective: Agents targeting to Colchicine-site of tubulin have become a focus of attention in the development of new anti-cancer drugs due to their ability to overcome multi-drug resistant and anti-angiogenesis effects against tumor endothelium.

Methods: In this investigation, the machine learning methods and molecular docking approach were combined to identify promising destabilizing agents targeting for colchicine-site of tubulin.

Results: Among these screened agents, hit22 represented excellent anti-tumor activity, which exhibited anti-proliferative activity toward H1299 cell with IC value of 3.

Mobile Robotic Optical Coherence Tomography System for Ophthalmic Imaging in Clinical Environments.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an indispensable imaging modality for the diagnosis and management of many common eye diseases. We previously presented a fixed-base robotic OCT system to enable automated imaging and alleviate the necessity for restricted patient posture required by traditional clinical OCT. To adapt our system to diverse clinic environments, we introduce a mobile robotic OCT system designed for imaging patients in diverse clinical configurations.

Efficient and stable electro-Fenton treatment of antibiotics-containing wastewater over NiFe bimetal atom catalyst via flow-through micro-nanoscale spatial confinement system.

The engineering application of electro-Fenton process is subject to limited availability of •OH caused by mass transfer limitation and the short lifetime of •OH in water. In this study, an efficient electro-Fenton treatment process is developed by constructing a flow-through micro-nanoscale spatial confinement electrode with NiFe bimetal atom catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The NiN-FeN active sites are anchored onto carbon nanotubes grown in the tunnel of carbonized pine wood (NiFe-NCNTs-CP).

Harnessing Fick's distribution in thermally diffused polycrystals for in-situ optimization of laser efficiency.

Transition-metal (TM) doped II-VI ceramics like Cr:ZnS/ZnSe have garnered significant attention as mid-infrared (MIR) laser gain media due to their broad emission spectrum and power scalability. Here, we report the doping profile engineering for laser ceramics via an empirical revision of Fick's diffusion model for Cr:ZnS, and its application to in-situ laser performance optimization. Using a 30 output coupler, the system achieved a maximum laser output power of 5.