YXQN Ameliorates Vascular Dementia in 2-VO Rats via Inhibition of Ferroptosis.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: YangXue QingNao Wan (YXQN) is a compound Chinese medicine comprising of 11 traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, including Angelica sinensis, Ligusticum chuanxiong, and Paeonia lactiflora, etc. Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that YXQN improved cerebral microcirculation in hypertensive rats. However, its efficacy and underlying mechanisms in treating vascular dementia (VaD) remain unclear.

Novel Radiofluorinated Nanobody PET Tracer for Preclinical Studies of TIM3 Expression.

T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-3 (TIM3) is an inhibitory checkpoint glycoprotein expressed on immune cells, particularly tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and plays a critical role in suppressing antitumor immune responses. While dual blockade of TIM3 and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) has shown promising results in enhancing immune responses in advanced cancers, the lack of reliable, noninvasive methods for detecting TIM3 expression in tumors remains a major challenge. To address this, we developed and characterized a novel positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, [F]AlF-RESCA-HVCR2N2, based on a TIM3-specific nanobody labeled via [F]AlF radiochemistry.

Diffusion Model-based Medical Image Generation as a Potential Data Augmentation Strategy for AI Applications.

Introduction: This study explored a generative image synthesis method based on diffusion models, potentially providing a low-cost and high-efficiency training data augmentation strategy for medical artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Methods: The MedMNIST v2 dataset was utilized as a small-volume training dataset under low-performance computing conditions. Based on the characteristics of existing samples, new medical images were synthesized using the proposed annotated diffusion model.

Epigenetic Regulation of Aging and its Rejuvenation.

Aging increases the global burden of disease, yet its molecular basis remains incompletely understood. Recent studies indicate that reversible epigenetic drift-spanning DNA methylation clocks, histone codes, three-dimensional chromatin, and noncoding RNA networks-constitutes a central regulator of organismal decline and age-related diseases. How these epigenetic layers interact across different tissues-and how best to translate them into therapeutic strategies-are still open questions.

Highly stable Cas9 promotes HBV genome destruction by antagonizing HSC70-mediated degradation.

As a naturally-existing adaptive immune system of prokaryotes against phages and foreign genetic materials, CRISPR/Cas9 system has been widely used to combat with various viral infections. However, its ability to destroy the constantly replicating viral genome and subsequently clear viral infections still needs further improvement. This study found that Cas9 protein was mainly degraded through the chaperone mediated autophagy (CMA)-lysosome pathway in human cells, which was mediated by the binding between heat shock cognate protein 70 (HSC70) and Cas9 protein.

Amygdala-liver signalling orchestrates glycaemic responses to stress.

Behavioural adaptations to environmental threats are crucial for survival and necessitate rapid deployment of energy reserves. The amygdala coordinates behavioural adaptations to threats, but little is known about its involvement in underpinning metabolic adaptations. Here we show that acute stress activates medial amygdala (MeA) neurons that innervate the ventromedial hypothalamus (MeA neurons), which precipitates hyperglycaemia and hypophagia.

CD55hi MAIT cells with elevated cytokine secretion and activation markers serve as potential diagnostic indicators in Sjögren's disease.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells play a vital role in immune responses, yet their involvement in autoimmune diseases such as Sjögren's disease (SjD) remains unclear. CD55, a key regulator of complement activation, influences immune cell function. This study investigates CD55 expression on MAIT cells in SjD patients and healthy controls, evaluating its potential as a diagnostic marker.

Association between occupational ionizing radiation exposure duration and the increased risk of dyslipidemia: evidence from a large group of radiation workers.

Background: Although radiation workers' exposure levels consistently remained below established safety thresholds, accumulating evidence demonstrates that chronic low-dose ionizing radiation exposure may still pose significant health risks to humans. We aimed to explore the relationship between the years of low-dose radiation work and dyslipidemia.

Methods: We collected occupational and physical examination data of 10,338 radiation workers from 1,200 workplaces during 2019-2020 in Guangdong Province, China.

Assessment of the 1,3-β-D-glucan test and the galactomannan antigen test in the detection of invasive fungal infections in patients with hematological diseases.

To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the 1,3-β-D-glucan (BDG) test and the galactomannan (GM) antigen test in invasive fungal infections (IFI) among hematologic patients and to explore an optimized diagnostic approach. A total of 294 consecutive patients with hematological diseases suspected of fungal infections were enrolled at Peking University People's Hospital from January 2020 to October 2023. IFI diagnosis referred to a composite reference standard (CRS), which combined both mycological and clinical evidence.

[Digital design and manufacturing method of double constrained split guide for orthodontic miniscrew implantation].

This study explored a novel digital design and fabrication method for a double constrained split orthodontic miniscrew guide to improve the accuracy and safety of clinical miniscrew implantation and reduce related complications. A patient requiring miniscrew implantation was selected, and data were acquired using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and intraoral optical scanning. For the construction of a double constrained split guide including a screw-hole guide and an insertion rod guide, different types of software such as Mimics 24.

Artificial intelligence-based predictive model for relapse in acute myeloid leukemia patients following haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Background And Objectives: Relapse is one of the most critical causes of transplant failure in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receiving haploidentical-related donor (HID) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We aimed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based predictive model for post-transplant relapse in patients with AML receiving HID HSCT.

Methods: This study included patients with consecutive AML (aged ≥ 12 years) receiving HID HSCT in complete remission (CR).

Photothermal-gas combination therapy promotes checkpoint blockade immunotherapy in colon cancer.

Checkpoint blockade immunotherapy emerges as a potential cure of cancer, but the monotherapy suffers from a low response rate in clinic. Photothermal therapy (PTT) that harvests light energy to ablate tumor is reported to activate tumor-specific immune response, meanwhile nitric oxide (NO) is considered to involve in immune regulation. Herein, we designed a multifunctional nanoplatform that enables photothermal-gas combination therapy by conjugating indocyanine green-thiol (ICG-SH) and s-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) onto polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)-coated gold nanoparticles (AIG).

Next-generation sequencing identifies the mutational signature of double primary and metastatic malignancies: A case report.

We present the case of a 59-year-old Chinese man diagnosed with stage III clear cell renal cell carcinoma who developed 2 suspicious lung lesions 5 years after follow-up. Pathological evaluation revealed 2 distinct types of cancer: lung adenocarcinoma in situ and clear cell renal carcinoma with lung metastasis. Lung tissue samples were sequenced using a panel of 1267 cancer-related genes.

Structural insights into the substrate uptake and inhibition of the human creatine transporter (hCRT).

Creatine plays a vital role in cellular energy production and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) homeostasis and has also been identified as a neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain. Creatine is transported into cells by the human creatine transporter (hCRT) (SLC6A8), an Na/Cl-dependent symporter encoded on the X chromosome. Mutations in hCRT cause cerebral creatine deficiency syndrome 1, a neurological disorder marked by intellectual disability, speech delay, and seizures.

Danhong Injection targets CaMKII through Dihydrotanshinone I to alleviate cardiomyocyte death and inflammation in viral myocarditis.

Viral myocarditis, an inflammatory heart disorder caused by viral infections, often leads to poor outcomes due to the lack of effective prevention and treatment strategies. Despite the characteristic feature of cardiomyocyte death in this condition, the underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic approaches remain poorly understood. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), despite its extensive history in treating various diseases, has not yet been approved for the treatment of viral myocarditis.

Impact of comprehensive tobacco control policies on stroke and acute myocardial infarction among patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes in Beijing, China: An interrupted time-series analysis.

Background And Aims: Tobacco control policies enhance cardiovascular health at the population level, but their effects on high-risk individuals, such as those with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or hypertension, remain unclear. This study evaluated the association between a tobacco control policy and hospital admissions for stroke and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in hypertensive and T2DM individuals.

Design: Interrupted time series study.

Neurofunctional divergence between classical and idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia: A large-cohort resting-state fMRI study of 139 patients.

Background: Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) has advanced our understanding of trigeminal neuralgia (TN), but the neural distinctions between its classical (CTN) and idiopathic (ITN) subtypes are poorly understood. This study aims to investigate differential brain activity and connectivity patterns between CTN and ITN to elucidate their underlying central mechanisms and identify potential neuroimaging biomarkers.

Methods: This prospective study included rs-fMRI data from 139 TN patients (84 CTN, 55 ITN) and 49 matched healthy controls (HCs).

Prospective Validation of an Ultrasound Capsule-Based Model for Predicting Follicular Thyroid Carcinoma Without High-Risk Features.

Background: The surgical indications for follicular thyroid neoplasms (FTNs) remain controversial due to challenges in the preoperative follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) diagnosis. We aimed to explore the sonographic features of the FTN capsule and establish a prediction model for diagnosing FTC without high-risk features.

Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled consecutive adult patients with FTN.

Comprehensive bioinformatic analysis identifies potential therapeutic drugs for CryAB (R120G)-related cardiomyopathy.

CryAB, known as Alpha-B Crystallin, has also been shown to bind and increase the unfolding force of the filamentous protein. Mutation of CryAB at R120G causes serious cardiomyopathy but lacks ideal therapeutic drugs. In the present study, we constructed CryAB (R120G)-transgenic (TG) mice.

Porous microscaffold enables spontaneous hematopoietic cell differentiation and continuous macrophage production from hPSCs for therapy.

Macrophages play critical roles in various physiological and pathological processes, yet their scalable production for therapeutic applications remains a challenge. Here, we present a porous microscaffold (PMS) that enables robust hematopoietic differentiation from human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived mesoderm. Within PMS, mesoderm cells self-organize into vascular structures reminiscent of the early aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) niches, promoting efficient endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition with minimal cytokine supplementation.

Probiotics derived sodium benzoate improves social behavior of offspring exposed in the maternal immune activation through regulation of histone lysine benzoylation in astrocytes.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition increasingly linked to microbiota-gut-brain axis dysregulation, yet the causal microbial mediators and molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Based on our previously published ASD cohort, we discovered that depletion of Lactobacillus species in children with ASD correlates with exacerbated gastrointestinal symptoms and social deficits. Maternal immune activation (MIA) during pregnancy has been established as a critical environmental risk factor for ASD.

A Comprehensive Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomic Dataset of Human Spermatozoa.

Male infertility is fundamentally rooted in developmental defects of germ cells and associated molecular dysregulation, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Data-independent acquisition (DIA) has emerged as a powerful tool in discovery proteomics, enabling the identification of disease biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and molecular pathways with high precision and reproducibility. To analyse the aberrant regulatory events in human sperm proteins associated with male reproductive disorders in a high-throughput, reproducible, and reliable manner, we employed the Orbitrap Astral mass spectrometer, which independently operates Orbitrap Full Scan and Astral MS/MS to generate high-resolution full-scan spectra and high-quality secondary maps.

Multi-Omics Reveals Aberrant Phenotypes of Respiratory Microbiome and Phospholipidomics Associated with Asthma-Related Inflammation.

Respiratory microbiota and lipids are closely associated with airway inflammation. This study aimed to analyze the correlations among the respiratory microbiome, the airway glycerophospholipid-sphingolipid profiles, and airway inflammation in patients with asthma. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 61 patients with asthma and 17 healthy controls.