Pyroptosis-responsive microspheres modulate the inflammatory microenvironment to retard osteoporosis in female mice.

The treatment of osteoporosis and related bone defects remains challenging. This study identifies pyroptosis-driven inflammation as a key disruptor of bone homeostasis. To address this, we develop a magnesium-gelatin composite microsphere scaffold (GelMa/Mg/DMF MS) that exploit pyroptosis blockade and hydrogen-mediated inflammation regulation for osteoporosis treatment.

Ferrous fluoride nanoinitiators reprogram tumor stemness to empower ultrasound-augmented pyroptosis for potent catalytic immunotherapy.

Pyroptosis, a pro-inflammatory programmed cell death mechanism, plays a pivotal role in immune activation. While ultrasound (US)-enhanced catalytic therapy can trigger pyroptosis through increased oxidative stress, tumor cells frequently circumvent this process via intrinsic resistance mechanisms. Herein, ferrous fluoride (FeF) nanoinitiators were developed to promote US-enhanced catalytic activity via stemness reprogramming to amplify pyroptosis-driven antitumor immunity.

Efficacy and safety of Fe-curcumin coordination polymer nanodots to prevent corneal neovascularization in alkali burn models.

Alkali burns pose a significant risk of corneal injury, leading to potential blindness. During the progression of alkali burns, heightened oxidation levels can induce corneal damage, resulting in diminished clarity and vision loss. In this study, we chose metallic iron in conjunction with a small molecule, curcumin, to synthesize a curcumin-iron coordinated nanocomposite aimed at enhancing the bioaccessibility and targeting capabilities of curcumin.

Cutaneous mucormycosis in a critically ill nonagenarian patient caused by Rhizopus species treated with intravenous isavuconazole and topical amphotericin B along with wound debridement.

This case report highlights cutaneous mucormycosis in a 99-year-old patient who was effectively treated with intravenous isavuconazole and local amphotericin B after wound debridement. The patient showed significant improvement within two weeks, highlighting the importance of diagnosis and treatment for this rare fungal infection. It underscores the need for early recognition and suggests that combining antifungal treatments with surgical intervention may be an optimal strategy, even in patients lacking typical risk factors.

Effects of Different Highland Barley Varieties on Quality and Digestibility of Noodles.

This study comprehensively assessed the effects of ten highland barley varieties on the quality and digestibility of noodles. The characteristics of highland barley flour, including proximate composition, pasting properties, and dough mixing behavior, were analyzed. The quality of the resulting noodles was evaluated through cooking and textural property analysis.

Hydrotalcites-Induced Pyroptosis Combined with Toll-Like Receptor Activation Elicited Dual Stimulation of Innate and Adaptive Immunity.

Increasing evidence illustrates the significance of promoting tumor immunogenicity and an efficient immune response in immunotherapy, but the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) remains an obstacle. Herein, AlZn hydrotalcite (AZOH) was synthesized as a pyroptosis inducer and further loaded with R848 to formulate R@AZOH. R@AZOH efficiently triggered CT26 cell pyroptosis through Zn overload-evoked mitochondrial dysfunction and its downstream caspase-1/GSDMD pathway, resulting in the release of inflammatory cytokines, membrane fracture, and immunogenic cell death (ICD).

Dual functional nanoplatforms potentiate osteosarcoma immunotherapy via microenvironment modulation.

Osteosarcoma (OS), a highly aggressive bone tumor, presents significant challenges in terms of effective treatment. We identified that cellular autophagy was impaired within OS by comparing clinical OS samples through bioinformatic analyses and further validated the inhibition of mitochondrial autophagy in OS at the transcriptomic level. Based on this finding, we investigated the therapeutic potential of a dual functional metal nanoplatform (MnS) to facilitate a transition from the protective effect of low-level autophagy in OS to the killing effect of high-level autophagy in OS.

An electrically activable nanochip to intensify gas-ionic-immunotherapy.

Excess intracellular HS induces destructive mitochondrial toxicity, while overload of Zn results in cell pyroptosis and potentiates the tumor immunogenicity for immunotherapy. However, the precise delivery of both therapeutics remains a great challenge. Herein, an electrically activable ZnS nanochip for the controlled release of HS and Zn was developed for enhanced gas-ionic-immunotherapy (GIIT).

Bimetallic peroxide nanoparticles induce PANoptosis by disrupting ion homeostasis for enhanced immunotherapy.

PANoptosis has recently emerged as a potential approach to improve the immune microenvironment. However, current methods for inducing PANoptosis are limited. Herein, through biological screening, the rational use of the nutrient metal ions Cu and Zn had great potential to induce PANoptosis.

Modulating the Electronic Structure of MnNiS Nanoelectrodes to Activate Pyroptosis for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen-Immunotherapy.

Hydrogen (H) therapy has demonstrated antitumor effect, but the therapeutic efficacy is restricted by the low solubility and nontarget delivery of H. Electrolysis of HO by electrocatalysts sustainably releases enormous amounts of H and inspires the precise delivery of H for tumor therapy. Herein, manganese-doped NiS nanoelectrodes (MnNiS NEs) are designed for the electrocatalytic delivery of H and the activation of antitumor immunity to effectively potentiate H-immunotherapy.

Antimony Component Schottky Nanoheterojunctions as Ultrasound-Heightened Pyroptosis Initiators for Sonocatalytic Immunotherapy.

Pyroptosis, an inflammatory modality of programmed cell death associated with the immune response, can be initiated by bioactive ions and reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, bioactive ion-induced pyroptosis lacks specificity, and further exploration of other ions that can induce pyroptosis in cancer cells is needed. Sonocatalytic therapy (SCT) holds promise due to its exceptional penetration depth; however, the rapid recombination of electron-hole (e-h) pairs and the complex tumor microenvironment (TME) impede its broader application.

Identifying groundwater ammonium hotspots in riverside aquifer of Central Yangtze River Basin.

Elevated ammonium (NH-N) contents in groundwater are a global concern, yet the mobilization and enrichment mechanisms controlling NH-N within riverside aquifers (RAS) remain poorly understood. RAS are important zones for nitrogen cycling and play a vital role in regulating groundwater NH-N contents. This study conducted an integrated assessment of a hydrochemistry dataset using a combination of hydrochemical analyses and multivariate geostatistical methods to identify hydrochemical compositions and NH-N distribution in the riverside aquifer within Central Yangtze River Basin, ultimately elucidating potential NH-N sources and factors controlling NH-N enrichment in groundwater ammonium hotspots.

Autocatalytic bifunctional supramolecular hydrogels for osteoporotic bone repair.

Conventional bone scaffolds, which are mainly ascribed to highly active osteoclasts and an inflammatory microenvironment with high levels of reactive oxygen species and pro-inflammatory factors, barely satisfy osteoporotic defect repair. Herein, multifunctional self-assembled supramolecular fiber hydrogels (Ce-Aln gel) consisting of alendronate (Aln) and cerium (Ce) ions were constructed for osteoporotic bone defect repair. Based on the reversible interaction and polyvalent cerium ions, the Ce-Aln gel, which was mainly composed of ionic coordination and hydrogen bonds, displayed good injectability and autocatalytic amplification of the antioxidant effect.

Predicting bond dissociation energies of cyclic hypervalent halogen reagents using DFT calculations and graph attention network model.

Although hypervalent iodine(III) reagents have become staples in organic chemistry, the exploration of their isoelectronic counterparts, namely hypervalent bromine(III) and chlorine(III) reagents, has been relatively limited, partly due to challenges in synthesizing and stabilizing these compounds. In this study, we conduct a thorough examination of both homolytic and heterolytic bond dissociation energies (BDEs) critical for assessing the chemical stability and functional group transfer capability of cyclic hypervalent halogen compounds using density functional theory (DFT) analysis. A moderate linear correlation was observed between the homolytic BDEs across different halogen centers, while a strong linear correlation was noted among the heterolytic BDEs across these centers.

Magnesium implants with alternating magnetic field-enhanced hydrogen release and proton depletion for anti-infection treatment and tissue repair.

Implant-related osteomyelitis is a formidable hurdle in the clinical setting and is characterized by inflammation, infection, and consequential bone destruction. Therefore, effective reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging, bacterial killing, and subsequent bone tissue repair are urgently needed for the treatment of difficult-to-heal osteomyelitis. Herein, we utilized the eddy-thermal effect of magnesium (Mg) implants under an alternating magnetic field (AMF) for the controlled release of H gas and ions (OH and Mg) for the treatment of osteomyelitis.

Plane-wave medical image reconstruction based on dynamic Criss-Cross attention and multi-scale convolution.

Background: Plane-wave imaging is widely employed in medical imaging due to its ultra-fast imaging speed. However, the image quality is compromised. Existing techniques to enhance image quality tend to sacrifice the imaging frame rate.

Bioactive Layered Double Hydroxides for Synergistic Sonodynamic/Cuproptosis Anticancer Therapy with Elicitation of the Immune Response.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has promising application prospects in tumor therapy. However, SDT does not eradicate metastatic tumors. Herein, Cu-substituted ZnAl ternary layered double hydroxide nanosheets (ZCA NSs) were developed as both sonosensitizers and copper nanocarriers for synergistic SDT/cuproptosis cancer therapy.

Prediction criterion and numerical validation for the interaction between hydraulic fractures and bedding planes.

Shale is a kind of sedimentary rock with an obvious bedding structure. The effect of the bedding plane on hydraulic fracture initiation, propagation, and complex fracture network formation is remarkable and a major problem in hydraulic fracturing and shale oil and gas development. In this study, a criterion is established to predict the evolution behavior of hydraulic fractures (HF) under different confining pressure differences and intersection angles.

Orally Administered Silicon Hydrogen Nanomaterials as Target Therapy to Treat Intestinal Diseases.

The occurrence and development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are inextricably linked to the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Thus, there is an urgent need to develop innovative tactics to combat IBDs and scavenge excess ROS from affected areas. Herein, silicon hydrogen nanoparticles (SiH NPs) with ROS-scavenging ability were prepared by etching Si nanowires (NWs) with hydrogen fluoride (HF) to alleviate the symptoms associated with IBD by orally targeting the inflamed colonic sites.

Tissue ultrasound imaging based on wavelet correlation analysis and pulse-inversion technique.

Background: Pulse-inversion-based tissue harmonic imaging has been utilized for many years because it can effectively eliminate the harmonic leakage and produce low side-lobe. However, the pulse inversion method is sensitive to imaging object movements, which may result in motion artifacts. Spatial resolution and contrast were limited.

Ultrasmall iron-gallic acid coordination polymer nanodots with antioxidative neuroprotection for PET/MR imaging-guided ischemia stroke therapy.

Oxidative stress from reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a reperfusion injury factor that can lead to cell damage and death. Here, ultrasmall iron-gallic acid coordination polymer nanodots (Fe-GA CPNs) were developed as antioxidative neuroprotectors for ischemia stroke therapy guided by PET/MR imaging. As proven by the electron spin resonance spectrum, the ultrasmall Fe-GA CPNs with ultrasmall size, scavenged ROS efficiently.