Giant Spin-Orbit Torque in Antiferromagnetic-Coupled Pt/[Co/Gd]N Multilayers with Suppressed Spin Dephasing and Robust Thermal Stability.

Manipulating magnetization via power-efficient spin-orbit torque (SOT) has garnered significant attention in the field of spin-based memory and logic devices. However, the damping-like SOT efficiency (ξDL) in heavy metal (HM)/ferromagnetic metal (FM) bilayers is relatively small due to the strong spin dephasing accompanied by additional spin polarization decay. Furthermore, the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) originating from the HM/FM interface is constrained by the thickness of FM, which is unfavorable for thermal stability in practical applications. Consequently, it is valuable to develop systems that not only exhibit large ξDL but also balance thermal stability. In this work, we designed antiferromagnetic-coupled [Co/Gd]N multilayers, where staggered Co and Gd magnetic moments effectively suppress the spin dephasing and additional spin polarization decay. The ordered Co-Gd arrangements along the out-of-plane direction provide bulk PMA, endowing Pt/[Co/Gd]N high thermal stability. The SOT of Pt/[Co/Gd]N was systematically studied with N, demonstrating a significantly large ξDL of up to 0.66. The ξDL of Pt/[Co/Gd]N is greater than those of Pt/Co and Pt/ferrimagnetic alloys. This significant enhancement relies on the effective suppression of spin dephasing in [Co/Gd]N. Our work highlights that the antiferromagnetic-coupled [Co/Gd]N multilayer is a promising candidate for low-consumption and high-density spintronic devices.

Injectable hydrogel with doxorubicin-loaded ZIF-8 nanoparticles for tumor postoperative treatments and wound repair.

The need for tumor postoperative treatments aimed at recurrence prevention and tissue regeneration have raised wide considerations in the context of the design and functionalization of implants. Herein, an injectable hydrogel system encapsulated with anti-tumor, anti-oxidant dual functional nanoparticles has been developed in order to prevent tumor relapse after surgery and promote wound repair. The utilization of biocompatible gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) was geared towards localized therapeutic intervention. Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8@ceric oxide (ZIF-8@CeO2, ZC) nanoparticles (NPs) were purposefully devised for their proficiency as reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers. Furthermore, injectable GelMA hydrogels loaded with ZC NPs carrying doxorubicin (ZC-DOX@GEL) were tailored as multifunctional postoperative implants, ensuring the efficacious eradication of residual tumor cells and alleviation of oxidative stress. In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to substantiate the efficacy in cancer cell elimination and the prevention of tumor recurrence through the synergistic chemotherapy approach employed with ZC-DOX@GEL. The acceleration of tissue regeneration and in vitro ROS scavenging attributes of ZC@GEL were corroborated using rat models of wound healing. The results underscore the potential of the multifaceted hydrogels presented herein for their promising application in tumor postoperative treatments.

A novel reverse perilesional home phototherapy can promote the repigmentation of vitiligo patches with complete leukotrichia: A 12-week, open-label, double-arm, multicenter, randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Existing phototherapies are ineffective for treating patients with vitiligo with complete leukotrichia. We compared the efficacy of reverse perilesional irradiation, during which only the lesional areas are covered, with conventional narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) home phototherapy for repigmentation of non-segmental vitiligo in patients with complete leukotrichia. METHODS: This was a 12-week, open-label, double-arm, multicenter clinical trial, with a total of 121 patients with non-segmental vitiligo who were randomly divided into two groups (both received topical tacrolimus): the conventional NB-UVB irradiation (CI) and reverse perilesional NB-UVB irradiation (RI) groups. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference in improvement from baseline was observed in the RI group compared with the findings in the CI group (-30.8% ± 11.8% vs. -25.5% ± 11.05%, respectively [p = .010]; pair-wise comparison p = .900 at week 4, p = .104 at week 8, and p = .010 at week 12). At week 12, the average percentage change from baseline of leukotrichia in the irradiation area significantly decreased from 100% to 82.2% ± 13.65% in the RI group, and from 100% to 88.7% ± 9.64% in the CI group (p = .027). Adverse events were minor, including desquamation, dryness, erythema, and blisters. No severe or lasting side effects were observed during the study. CONCLUSION: RI mediated better repigmentation of vitiligo with complete leukotrichia than CI.

The arousal effect of An-Gong-Niu-Huang-Wan on alcoholic-induced coma rats: A research based on EEG.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Acute alcohol intoxication is one of the leading causes of coma. A well-regarded Chinese herbal formula, known as An-Gong-Niu-Huang-Wan (AGNHW), has garnered recognition for its efficacy in treating various brain disorders associated with impaired consciousness, including acute alcohol-induced coma. Despite its clinical effectiveness, the scientific community lacks comprehensive research on the mechanistic aspects of AGNHW's impact on the electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns observed during alcohol-induced coma. Gaining a deeper understanding of AGNHW's mechanism of action in relation to EEG characteristics would hold immense importance, serving as a solid foundation for further advancing its clinical therapeutic application. AIM OF THE STUDY: The study sought to investigate the impact of AGNHW on EEG activity and sleep EEG patterns in rats with alcoholic-induced coma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A rat model of alcohol-induced coma was used to examine the effects of AGNHW on EEG patterns. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were intraperitoneally injected with 32% ethanol to induce a coma, followed by treatment with AGNHW. Wireless electrodes were implanted in the cortex of the rats to obtain EEG signals. Our analysis focused on evaluating alterations in the Rat Coma Scale (RCS), as well as assessing changes in the frequency and distribution of EEG patterns, sleep rhythms, and body temperature subsequent to AGNHW treatment. RESULTS: The study found a significant increase in the δ-band power ratio, as well as a decrease in RCS scores and ß-band power ratio after modeling. AGNHW treatment significantly reduced the δ-band power ratio and increased the ß-band power ratio compared to naloxone, suggesting its superior arousal effects. The results also revealed a decrease in the time proportion of WAKE and REM EEG patterns after modeling, accompanied by a significant increase in the time proportion of NREM EEG patterns. Both naloxone and AGNHW effectively counteracted the disordered sleep EEG patterns. Additionally, AGNHW was more effective than naloxone in improving hypothermia caused by acute alcohol poisoning in rats. CONCLUSION: Our study provides evidence for the arousal effects of AGNHW in alcohol-induced coma rats. It also suggests a potential role for AGNHW in regulating post-comatose sleep rhythm disorders.

Acoustic spin rotation in heavy-metal-ferromagnet bilayers.

Through pumping a spin current from ferromagnet into heavy metal (HM) via magnetization precession, parts of the injected spins are in-plane rotated by the lattice vibration, namely acoustic spin rotation (ASR), which manifests itself as an inverse spin Hall voltage in HM with an additional 90° difference in angular dependency. When reversing the stacking order of bilayer with a counter-propagating spin current or using HMs with an opposite spin Hall angle, such ASR voltage shows the same sign, strongly suggesting that ASR changes the rotation direction due to interface spin-orbit interaction. With the drift-diffusion model of spin transport, we quantify the efficiency of ASR up to 30%. The finding of ASR endows the acoustic device with an ability to manipulate spin, and further reveals a new spin-orbit coupling between spin current and lattice vibration.

Risk stratification of LA-NPC during chemoradiotherapy based on clinical classification and TVRR.

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlation between tumor volume reduction rate (TVRR) and prognosis in patients with diverse clinical types of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) undergoing chemoradiotherapy, thereby aptly categorizing risks and directing the personalized treatment of NPC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 605 NPC patients with varying clinical types were enrolled in this study and subsequently segregated into six subgroups based on their clinical types and TVRR. To accentuate the efficacy of grouping, Groups 1-6 underwent clustered analysis of hazard atio (HR) values pertaining to progression-free survival (PFS), forming three risk clusters denoted as low, intermediate, and high. The log-rank test was employed to discern differences, and R 4.1.1 was utilized for cluster analysis. RESULTS: According to survival rates, we classified the first (G2 and G4), second (G1 and G6), and third (G3 and G5) risk clusters as low-, intermediate-, and high-risk, respectively. When comparing risk stratification with the 8th edition of the TNM staging system, our classification exhibited superior predictive prognostic performance. Subgroup analysis of treatments for each risk cluster revealed that the PFS in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) + concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) group surpassed that of the CCRT group significantly (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The reliance on clinical types and TVRR facilitates risk stratification of NPC during chemoradiotherapy, providing a foundation for physicians to tailor therapeutic strategies. Moreover, the risk cluster delineated for NPC patients during the mid-term of chemoradiotherapy stands as an independent prognostic factor for progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), distantmetastasis-free survival (DMFS), and local recurrence-free (LRRFS) posttreatment. Additionally, individuals in the high-risk cluster are recommended to undergo adjuvant chemotherapy after CCRT.

[Relationship of triglyceride-glucose index and its derivatives with blood pressure abnormalities in adolescents: an analysis based on a restricted cubic spline model]. / åŸºäºŽé™åˆ¶æ€§ç«‹æ–¹æ ·æ¡æ¨¡åž‹åˆ†æžé’å°‘å¹´ä¸‰é °ç”˜æ²¹-è‘¡è„ç³–æŒ‡æ•°åŠå ¶è¡ç”ŸæŒ‡æ•°ä¸Žè¡€åŽ‹å¼‚å¸¸çš„å ³ç³».

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship of triglyceride-glucose index (TyG), triglyceride-glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI), and triglyceride-glucose-waist circumference index (TyG-WC) with blood pressure abnormalities in adolescents, providing theoretical basis for the prevention and control of hypertension in adolescents. METHODS: A stratified cluster sampling method was used to select 1 572 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years in Yinchuan City for questionnaire surveys, physical measurements, and laboratory tests. Logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic spline analysis were employed to examine the relationship of TyG, TyG-BMI, and TyG-WC with blood pressure abnormalities in adolescents. RESULTS: Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that after adjusting for confounding factors, the groups with the highest quartile of TyG, TyG-BMI, and TyG-WC had 1.48 times (95%CI: 1.07-2.04), 3.71 times (95%CI: 2.67-5.15), and 4.07 times (95%CI: 2.89-5.73) higher risks of blood pressure abnormalities compared to the groups with the lowest quartile, respectively. Moreover, as the levels of TyG, TyG-BMI, and TyG-WC increased, the risk of blood pressure abnormalities gradually increased (P<0.05). A non-linear dose-response relationship was observed between TyG-BMI and the risk of blood pressure abnormalities (P overall trend<0.001, P non-linearity=0.002). Linear dose-response relationships were found between TyG and the risk of blood pressure abnormalities (P overall trend<0.001, P non-linearit =0.232), and between TyG-WC and the risk of blood pressure abnormalities (P overall trend<0.001, P non-linearity=0.224). CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of TyG and its derivatives are associated with an increased risk of blood pressure abnormalities in adolescents, with linear or non-linear dose-response relationships.

Pure testicular choriocarcinoma, a rare and highly malignant subtype with challenging treatment: A case report and review of the literature.

Testicular choriocarcinoma (CC) is the rarest subtype of germ cell tumours (GCTs) of the testis, with a high malignant potential and early haematogenous metastasis. Radical surgical resection should be performed primarily for histological diagnosis, while chemotherapy remains the mainstay of therapy for advanced disease. In the present study, the case of a 65-year-old male patient diagnosed with metastatic testicular CC, who did not fully respond to chemotherapy is reported. This patient underwent surgical removal of the testicular tumour, chemotherapy with etoposide and cisplatin, and radiotherapy of the intracranial lesions. Although the serum human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) levels of the patient and most of the metastases continued decreasing during chemotherapy, complete response was not achieved after six cycles of chemotherapy. The patient refused high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation due to severe side effects, and eventually developed respiratory failure on maintenance therapy with oral etoposide. A literature review was then performed, aiming to summarize the characteristics and therapeutic principles of testicular CC. In addition, the emerging therapeutic agents that could be used in maintenance therapy for GCTs, particularly for testicular CC, were also discussed. The limited clinical trials of targeted treatments showed potential benefit for long survival of patients with selected GCTs with fewer side effects. In particular, immunotherapy showed unique potential for testicular CC in preclinical studies, offering new approaches of maintenance therapy for advanced disease. Further studies should shed light on the identification of prognostic factors that predict the response to immune-based therapy in GCTs.

Effectiveness of vaccination in reducing hospitalization and mortality rates in dialysis patients with Omicron infection in China: A single-center study.

The impact of vaccination on the outcomes of dialysis patients with Omicron infections in China remains unknown. This study aimed to examine the relationship between vaccination and hospitalization as well as all-cause mortality. We included patients who had undergone maintenance hemodialysis (HD) for at least three months at our center. The follow-up period spanned from December 2022 to February 2023. We assessed the connections between vaccination and hospitalization as well as all-cause mortality using univariable and multivariable logistic regression models. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the diagnostic accuracy for hospitalization and all-cause mortality. Ultimately, a total of 427 HD patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections were included. The patients had a mean age of 54 years, and 59.4% of them were male. Prior to the investigation, 108 patients had received vaccinations, with 81 of them having completed or received booster vaccinations. Throughout the follow-up period, 81 patients were admitted to the hospital, and 39 patients died. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that vaccination significantly decreased all-cause mortality (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.07-1.94, P = .04). Moreover, completed or booster vaccinations were effective in reducing the hospitalization rate (OR 0.41, 95%CI 0.17-0.99, P = .047). It is noteworthy that both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals experienced mild symptoms, and the hospitalization rates were relatively low in both groups. Despite the reduced pathogenicity of Omicron compared to previous strains in dialysis patients, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, vaccination still provides benefits for improving the prognosis.

Room temperature energy-efficient spin-orbit torque switching in two-dimensional van der Waals Fe3GeTe2 induced by topological insulators.

Two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic materials with unique magnetic properties have great potential for next-generation spintronic devices with high flexibility, easy controllability, and high heretointegrability. However, realizing magnetic switching with low power consumption at room temperature is challenging. Here, we demonstrate the room-temperature spin-orbit torque (SOT) driven magnetization switching in an all-van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure using an optimized epitaxial growth approach. The topological insulator Bi2Te3 not only raises the Curie temperature of Fe3GeTe2 (FGT) through interfacial exchange coupling but also works as a spin current source allowing the FGT to switch at a low current density of ~2.2×106 A/cm2. The SOT efficiency is ~2.69, measured at room temperature. The temperature and thickness-dependent SOT efficiency prove that the larger SOT in our system mainly originates from the nontrivial topological origin of the heterostructure. Our experiments enable an all-vdW SOT structure and provides a solid foundation for the implementation of room-temperature all-vdW spintronic devices in the future.

Mendelian randomization analysis identified tumor necrosis factor as being associated with severe COVID-19.

Background: Observational studies have shown that anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy may be beneficial for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nevertheless, because of the methodological restrictions of traditional observational studies, it is a challenge to make causal inferences. This study involved a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis to investigate the causal link between nine TNFs and COVID-19 severity using publicly released genome-wide association study summary statistics. Methods: Summary statistics for nine TNFs (21,758 cases) were obtained from a large-scale genome-wide association study. Correlation data between single-nucleotide polymorphisms and severe COVID-19 (18,152 cases vs. 1,145,546 controls) were collected from the COVID-19 host genetics initiative. The causal estimate was calculated by inverse variance-weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, and weighted median methods. Sensitivity tests were conducted to assess the validity of the causal relationship. Results: Genetically predicted TNF receptor superfamily member 6 (FAS) positively correlated with the severity of COVID-19 (IVW, odds ratio = 1.10, 95% confidence interval = 1.01-1.19, p = 0.026), whereas TNF receptor superfamily member 5 (CD40) was protective against severe COVID-19 (IVW, odds ratio = 0.92, 95% confidence interval = 0.87-0.97, p = 0.002). Conclusion: Genetic evidence from this study supports that the increased expression of FAS is associated with the risk of severe COVID-19 and that CD40 may have a potential protective effect against COVID-19.

What's the Situation With Intelligent Mesh Generation: A Survey and Perspectives.

Intelligent Mesh Generation (IMG) represents a novel and promising field of research, utilizing machine learning techniques to generate meshes. Despite its relative infancy, IMG has significantly broadened the adaptability and practicality of mesh generation techniques, delivering numerous breakthroughs and unveiling potential future pathways. However, a noticeable void exists in the contemporary literature concerning comprehensive surveys of IMG methods. This paper endeavors to fill this gap by providing a systematic and thorough survey of the current IMG landscape. With a focus on 113 preliminary IMG methods, we undertake a meticulous analysis from various angles, encompassing core algorithm techniques and their application scope, agent learning objectives, data types, targeted challenges, as well as advantages and limitations. We have curated and categorized the literature, proposing three unique taxonomies based on key techniques, output mesh unit elements, and relevant input data types. This paper also underscores several promising future research directions and challenges in IMG. To augment reader accessibility, a dedicated IMG project page is available at https://github.com/xzb030/IMG_Survey.

Experimental demonstration of a skyrmion-enhanced strain-mediated physical reservoir computing system.

Physical reservoirs holding intrinsic nonlinearity, high dimensionality, and memory effects have attracted considerable interest regarding solving complex tasks efficiently. Particularly, spintronic and strain-mediated electronic physical reservoirs are appealing due to their high speed, multi-parameter fusion and low power consumption. Here, we experimentally realize a skyrmion-enhanced strain-mediated physical reservoir in a multiferroic heterostructure of Pt/Co/Gd multilayers on (001)-oriented 0.7PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-0.3PbTiO3 (PMN-PT). The enhancement is coming from the fusion of magnetic skyrmions and electro resistivity tuned by strain simultaneously. The functionality of the strain-mediated RC system is successfully achieved via a sequential waveform classification task with the recognition rate of 99.3% for the last waveform, and a Mackey-Glass time series prediction task with normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) of 0.2 for a 20-step prediction. Our work lays the foundations for low-power neuromorphic computing systems with magneto-electro-ferroelastic tunability, representing a further step towards developing future strain-mediated spintronic applications.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced depression-like model in mice: meta-analysis and systematic evaluation.

Depression is a complex and biologically heterogeneous disorder. Recent studies have shown that central nervous system (CNS) inflammation plays a key role in the development of depression. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression-like model in mice is commonly used to studying the mechanisms of inflammation-associated depression and the therapeutic effects of drugs. Numerous LPS-induced depression-like models in mice exist and differ widely in animal characteristics and methodological parameters. Here, we systematically reviewed studies on PubMed from January 2017 to July 2022 and performed cardinal of 170 studies and meta-analyses of 61 studies to support finding suitable animal models for future experimental studies on inflammation-associated depression. Mouse strains, LPS administration, and behavioral outcomes of these models have been assessed. In the meta-analysis, forced swimming test (FST) was used to evaluate the effect size of different mouse strains and LPS doses. The results revealed large effect sizes in ICR and Swiss mice, but less heterogeneity in C57BL/6 mice. For LPS intraperitoneal dose, the difference did not affect behavioral outcomes in C57BL/6 mice. However, in ICR mice, the most significant effect on behavioral outcomes was observed after the injection of 0.5 mg/kg LPS. Our results suggests that mice strains and LPS administration play a key role in the evaluation of behavioral outcomes in such models.

Chinese herbal injections plus Western Medicine on inflammatory factors for patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: Chinese herbal injections (CHIs) are commonly prescribed in China as adjuvant therapy for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). However, evidence supporting the effect of CHIs on inflammatory factors for patients with AECOPD is insufficient, posing a challenge for clinicians to choose the optimal CHIs for AECOPD. This network meta-analysis (NMA) aimed to compare the effectiveness of several CHIs combined with Western Medicine (WM) and WM alone on the inflammatory factors in AECOPD. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on different CHIs for treating AECOPD were thoroughly searched from several electronic databases up to August 2022. The quality assessment of the included RCTs was conducted according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Bayesian network meta-analyses were designed to assess the effectiveness of different CHIs. Systematic Review Registration CRD42022323996. Results: A total of 94 eligible RCTs involving 7,948 patients were enrolled in this study. The NMA results showed that using Xuebijing (XBJ), Reduning (RDN), Tanreqing (TRQ), and Xiyanping (XYP) injections combined with WM significantly improved treatment effects compared to using WM alone. XBJ + WM and TRQ + WM significantly changed the level of C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cells, percentage of neutrophils, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). TRQ + WM showed the most significant effect in reducing the level of procalcitonin. XYP + WM and RDN + WM could reduce the level of white blood cells and the percentage of neutrophils. A total of 12 studies reported adverse reactions in detail, and 19 studies demonstrated no significant adverse reactions. Conclusions: This NMA showed that using CHIs combined with WM could significantly reduce the level of inflammatory factors in AECOPD. A combination of TRQ and WM may be a relatively prior adjuvant therapy option for AECOPD treatment considering its effects in reducing the levels of the anti-inflammatory mediators.

Genetic predisposition to subjective well-being, depression, and suicide in relation to COVID-19 susceptibility and severity.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have reported associations between subjective well-being (SWB), depression, and suicide with COVID-19 illness, but the causality has not been established. We performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal link between SWB, depression, suicide and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity. METHODS: Summary statistics for SWB (298,420 cases), depression (113,769 cases) and suicide (52,208 cases) were obtained from three large-scale GWAS. Data on the associations between the Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and COVID-19 (159,840 cases), hospitalized COVID-19 (44,986 cases), and severe COVID-19 (18,152 cases) were collected from the COVID-19 host genetics initiative. The causal estimate was calculated by the Inverse Variance Weighted, MR Egger and Weighted Median methods. Sensitivity tests were used to evaluate the validity of the causal relationship. RESULTS: Our results showed that genetically predicted SWB (OR = 0.98, 95 % CI: 0.86-1.10, P = 0.69), depression (OR = 0.76, 95 % CI: 0.54-1.06, P = 0.11), and suicide (OR = 0.99, 95 % CI: 0.96-1.02, P = 0.56) were not causally related to COVID-19 susceptibility. Similarly, we did not find a potential causal relationship between SWB, depression, suicide and COVID-19 severity. CONCLUSIONS: This indicated that positive or negative emotions would not make COVID-19 better or worse, and strategies that attempted to use positive emotions to improve COVID-19 symptoms may be useless. Improving knowledge about the SARS-CoV-2 and timely medical intervention to reduce panic during a pandemic is one of the effective measures to deal with the current decrease in well-being and increase in depression and suicide rates.

Persistent Lipid Accumulation Leads to Persistent Exacerbation of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Inflammation in Progressive NASH via the IRE1α/TRAF2 Complex.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a metabolic disorder that often leads to other severe liver diseases, yet treatment options are limited. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is an important pathogenetic mechanism of NASH and plays a key role in tandem steatosis as well as liver inflammation. This study aims to develop a progressive NASH model through sustained lipid accumulation and to elucidate its molecular mechanism through IRE1α/TRAF2 complex. Male SD rats were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 4, 8, and 12 weeks to induce progressive NASH. MRNA sequencing and PPI analysis were used to screen core genes. Transmission electron microscopy, immunofluorescence staining, ELISA, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting were used at each time point to compare differences between each index of progressive NASH at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Sustained lipid accumulation led to structural disruption of the ER, a reduction in ER number, and an increase of lipid droplet aggregation in hepatocytes. Persistent lipid accumulation led to a persistent increase in mRNA and protein expression of the IRE1α/TRAF2 complex, IKK/IκB/NF-κB signaling pathway and ASK1/JNK1 signaling pathway, and TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 also continued to increase. Persistent lipid accumulation led to a persistent exacerbation of ER stress and inflammation in progressive NASH via the IRE1α/TRAF2 complex.

A Parametric Design Method for Engraving Patterns on Thin Shells.

Designing thin-shell structures that are diverse, lightweight, and physically viable is a challenging task for traditional heuristic methods. To address this challenge, we present a novel parametric design framework for engraving regular, irregular, and customized patterns on thin-shell structures. Our method optimizes pattern parameters such as size and orientation, to ensure structural stiffness while minimizing material consumption. Our method is unique in that it works directly with shapes and patterns represented by functions, and can engrave patterns through simple function operations. By eliminating the need for remeshing in traditional FEM methods, our method is more computationally efficient in optimizing mechanical properties and can significantly increase the diversity of shell structure design. Quantitative evaluation confirms the convergence of the proposed method. We conduct experiments on regular, irregular, and customized patterns and present 3D printed results to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Depression Exacerbates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis via IRF5-Mediated Macrophage Polarization.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and concurrent depression are predisposed to severer disease activity and a worse prognosis. Macrophage polarization toward the M1 phenotype may contribute to the exacerbation of IBD with comorbid depression. Moreover, interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is involved in the pathogenesis of IBD. The aim of this study was to explore the role of IRF5 in macrophage polarization in the impact of depression upon colitis. METHODS: Depressive-like behavior was induced by repeated forced swim stress. Colon length, disease activity index (DAI), colon morphology, histology, ultrastructure of epithelial barrier, lamina propria macrophage polarization, and expression of IRF5 were compared between DSS colitis rats with and without depressive-like behavior. IRF5 shRNA was constructed to affect the rat peritoneal macrophages polarization in vitro. After IRF5 shRNA lentivirus was introduced into colon by enema, the colitis severity, lamina propria macrophage polarization, and TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-10 of colon tissues were measured. RESULTS: The study found severer colonic inflammation in depressed versus non-depressed DSS-colitis rats. Depressed DSS-colitis rats exhibited smaller subepithelial macrophages size and reduced intracellular granule diversity compared with nondepressed DSS-colitis rats. Increased polarization toward the M1 phenotype, elevated expression of IRF5, and co-expression of IRF5 with CD86 were found in depressed versus nondepressed DSS-colitis rats. Lentivirus-mediated shRNA interference with IRF5 expression switched rat peritoneal macrophage polarization from the M1 to the M2 phenotype, downregulated TNF-α, IL-1ß expression to a greater extent in depressed versus nondepressed colitis rats. CONCLUSIONS: IRF5-mediated macrophage polarization may likely underlie the deterioration of DSS-induced colitis caused by depression.