Fast Organic Cation Exchange in Colloidal Perovskite Quantum Dots toward Functional Optoelectronic Applications.

Colloidal quantum dots with lower surface ligand density are desired for preparing the active layer for photovoltaic, lighting, and other potential optoelectronic applications. In emerging perovskite quantum dots (PQDs), the diffusion of cations is thought to have a high energy barrier, relative to that of halide anions. Herein, we investigate the fast cross cation exchange approach in colloidal lead triiodide PQDs containing methylammonium (MA+) and formamidinium (FA+) organic cations, which exhibits a significantly lower exchange barrier than inorganic cesium (Cs+)-FA+ and Cs+-MA+ systems. First-principles calculations further suggest that the fast internal cation diffusion arises due to a lowering in structural distortions and the consequent decline in attractive cation-cation and cation-anion interactions in the presence of organic cation vacancies in mixed MA+-FA+ PQDs. Combining both experimental and theoretical evidence, we propose a vacancy-assisted exchange model to understand the impact of structural features and intermolecular interaction in PQDs with fewer surface ligands. Finally, for a realistic outcome, the as-prepared mixed-cation PQDs display better photostability and can be directly applied for one-step coated photovoltaic and photodetector devices, achieving a high photovoltaic efficiency of 15.05% using MA0.5FA0.5PbI3 PQDs and more precisely tunable detective spectral response from visible to near-infrared regions.

Ultrathin Lithiophilic 3D Arrayed Skeleton Enabling Spatial-Selection Deposition for Dendrite-Free Lithium Anodes.

Lithium metal batteries are promising to become a new generation of energy storage batteries. However, the growth of Li dendrites and the volume expansion of the anode are serious constraints to their commercial implementation. Herein, a controllable strategy is proposed to construct an ultrathin 3D hierarchical host of honeycomb copper micromesh loaded with lithiophilic copper oxide nanowires (CMMC). The uniquely designed 3D hierarchical arrayed skeletons demonstrate a surface-preferred and spatial-selective effect to homogenize local current density and relieve the volume expansion, effectively suppressing the dendrite growth. Employing the constructed CMMC current collector in a half-cell, >400 cycles with 99% coulombic efficiency at 0.5 mA cm-2 is performed. The symmetric battery cycles stably for >2000 h, and the full battery delivers a capacity of 166.6 mAh g-1 . This facile and controllable approach provides an effective strategy for constructing high-performance lithium metal batteries.

Metformin reduces myogenic contracture and myofibrosis induced by rat knee joint immobilization via AMPK-mediated inhibition of TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway.

PURPOSE: The two structural components contributing to joint contracture formation are myogenic and arthrogenic contracture, and myofibrosis is an important part of myogenic contracture. Myofibrosis is a response to long-time immobilization and is described as a condition with excessive deposition of endomysial and perimysial connective tissue components in skeletal muscle. The purpose of this study was to confirm whether metformin can attenuate the formation of myogenic contracture and myofibrosis through the phosphorylation level of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and inhabitation of subsequent transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß) 1/Smad signaling pathway. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An immobilized rat model was used to determine whether metformin could inhibit myogenic contracture and myofibrosis. The contents of myogenic contracture of knee joint was calculated by measuring instrument of range of motion (ROM), and myofibrosis of rectus femoris were determined by ultrasound shear wave elastography and Masson staining. Protein expression of AMPK and subsequent TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway were determined by western blot. Subsequently, Compound C, a specific AMPK inhibitor, was used to further clarify the role of the AMPK-mediated inhibition of TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway. RESULTS: We revealed that the levels of myogenic contracture and myofibrosis were gradually increased during immobilization, and overexpression of TGF-ß1-induced formation of myofibrosis by activating Smad2/3 phosphorylation. Activation of AMPK by metformin suppressed overexpression of TGF-ß1 and TGF-ß1-induced Smad2/3 phosphorylation, further reducing myogenic contracture and myofibrosis during immobilization. In contrast, inhibition of AMPK by Compound C partially counteracted the inhibitory effect of TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway by metformin. CONCLUSION: Notably, we first illustrated the therapeutic effect of metformin through AMPK-mediated inhibition of TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway in myofibrosis, which may provide a new therapeutic strategy for myogenic contracture.

Highly Doped Upconversion Nanoparticles for In Vivo Applications Under Mild Excitation Power.

One of the major challenges in using upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) is to improve their brightness. This is particularly true for in vivo studies, as the low power excitation is required to prevent the potential photo toxicity to live cells and tissues. Here, we report that the typical NaYF4:Yb0.2,Er0.02 nanoparticles can be highly doped, and the formula of NaYF4:Yb0.8,Er0.06 can gain orders of magnitude more brightness, which is applicable to a range of mild 980 nm excitation power densities, from 0.005 W/cm2 to 0.5 W/cm2. Our results reveal that the concentration of Yb3+ sensitizer ions plays an essential role, while increasing the doping concentration of Er3+ activator ions to 6 mol % only has incremental effect. We further demonstrated a type of bright UCNPs 12 nm in total diameter for in vivo tumor imaging at a power density as low as 0.0027 W/cm2, bringing down the excitation power requirement by 42 times. This work redefines the doping concentrations to fight for the issue of concentration quenching, so that ultrasmall and bright nanoparticles can be used to further improve the performance of upconversion nanotechnology in photodynamic therapy, light-triggered drug release, optogenetics, and night vision enhancement.

Polyethylenimine Nanogels Incorporated with Ultrasmall Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Doxorubicin for MR Imaging-Guided Chemotherapy of Tumors.

Development of versatile nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics remains a hot topic in the area of nanomedicine. We report here a general approach to create polyethylenimine (PEI)-based hybrid nanogels (NGs) incorporated with ultrasmall iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs) and doxorubicin for T1-weighted MR imaging-guided chemotherapy of tumors. In this study, PEI NGs were first prepared using an inverse emulsion approach along with Michael addition reaction to cross-link the NGs, modified with citric acid-stabilized ultrasmall Fe3O4 NPs through 1-ethyl-3-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) coupling, and physically loaded with anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). The formed hybrid NGs possess good water dispersibility and colloidal stability, excellent DOX loading efficiency (51.4%), pH-dependent release profile of DOX with an accelerated release rate under acidic pH, and much higher r1 relaxivity (2.29 mM-1 s-1) than free ultrasmall Fe3O4 NPs (1.15 mM-1 s-1). In addition, in contrast to the drug-free NGs that possess good cytocompatibility, the DOX-loaded hybrid NGs display appreciable therapeutic activity and can be taken up by cancer cells in vitro. With these properties, the developed hybrid NGs enabled effective inhibition of tumor growth under the guidance of T1-weighted MR imaging. The developed hybrid NGs may be applied as a versatile nanoplatform for MR imaging-guided chemotherapy of tumors.

Metabolomics Profiling and AKR Characterization During Paurometabolous Development of Corythucha ciliata (Hemiptera: Tingidae).

The sycamore lace bug, Corythucha ciliata (Say) is an invasive pest infesting trees of the genus Platanus. Both adults and nymphs damage the foliage of sycamore trees. Nymphs cannot survive in low temperatures; however, the sycamore lace bug overwinters as adults. In this study, we analyzed the metabolite profiles of this pest to determine significantly regulated metabolites during paurometabolous development from nymphs to adults. The identification of metabolites is essential to convert analytical data into meaningful biological knowledge. A total of 62 metabolites were identified using GC-MS. Among them, 29 different metabolites showed differences in content among nymphs, adult females (AF), and adult males (AM). Five of the 29 metabolites, including caffeic acid, D-glucose, D-mannose, glycerol and aminooxyacetic acid, were significantly increased and nine of them were significantly decreased during the developmental stages from nymph to adult. In addition, we identified three novel aldo-keto reductase (AKR) genes that may play a significant role in the control of glycerol biosynthesis. Moreover, the characteristics and expression levels of these genes were analyzed. This study will provide us with the necessary information to improve our understanding of the changes in metabolites in C. ciliata during paurometabolous development.

Changes in Gene Expression and Metabolite Profiles in Platanus acerifolia Leaves in Response to Feeding Damage Caused by Corythucha ciliata.

The sycamore lace bug, Corythucha ciliata (Say) is a highly invasive pest insect that feeds on sycamore trees (Platanus spp.) worldwide. The interaction between Platanus species and this insect pest has not yet been studied at the molecular level. Therefore, a recent study was conducted to compare the gene expression and metabolite profiles of Platanus acerifolia leaves in response to C. ciliata feeding damage after 24 and 48 h. We employed high throughput RNA sequencing (RNA- seq) to identify a total of 2,828 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after C. ciliata feeding. In addition, 303 unigenes were found to be up-regulated at both time points. Moreover, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis showed that monoterpenoid biosynthesis, the linoleic acid metabolism pathway, and alpha- linolenic acid metabolism were the most prominent pathways among the DEGs. Further analysis of the metabolite profiles showed that nine metabolites were significantly different before and after C. ciliata damage. In addition, we analyzed DEGs detected in the P. acerifolia and C. ciliata interaction using Mapman. The terpene synthase gene family was also identified. We suggest that the results obtained from DEGs and metabolite analysis can provide important information for the identification of genes involved in the P. acerifolia-C. ciliata interaction, which might be necessary for controlling C. ciliata efficiently.

[Modified Snodgrass technique for hypospadias].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effect of modified Snodgrass surgical technique in the treatment of hypospadias. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data about 212 cases of hypospadias treated by urethroplasty from January 2008 to October 2016, 94 with the modified Snodgrass technique, namely with a silk line in addition to the urethral suture to make easier postoperative removal of the suture (group A), and the other 118 with the conventional Snodgrass technique (group B). The urethral suture was removed at 10 days after surgery for the patients in group A. We compared the success rate of surgery and incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups. RESULTS: Compared with group B, group A showed a significantly higher success rate of surgery (81.36% vs 91.49%, P <0.05) but lower incidence rates of postoperative incisional infection (12.71% vs 4.26%, P <0.05) and urinary fistula (16.10% vs 6.38%, P <0.05). No statistically significant difference was found in the incidence of urethral stenosis between the two groups (2.54% vs 2.13%, P >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The modified Snodgrass technique can improve the success rate of surgery and reduce the incidence rates of incisional infection and urinary fistula, which deserves wide clinical application.

Spontaneous splenic rupture as the initial symptom of splenic angiosarcoma: case report and literature review.

Spontaneous splenic rupture is an extremely rare occurrence, often attributed to tumorous pathologies. Among these, primary splenic angiosarcoma stands as a malignancy arising from the endothelial cells within the spleen. While sporadic cases have been reported globally, there remains a lack of comprehensive consensus on standardized approaches for diagnosis and treatment. We report a case of an 83-year-old male who underwent emergency enhanced CT due to sudden shock, revealing significant intra-abdominal fluid accumulation. Emergency surgery revealed splenic rupture necessitating splenectomy. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of splenic angiosarcoma. Despite successful surgery, the patient succumbed to severe complications two weeks postoperatively.

Promotion of mandibular distraction osteogenesis by parathyroid hormone via macrophage polarization induced through iNOS downregulation.

Objective: To investigate whether Parathyroid hormone (PTH) can promote mandibular distraction osteogenesis by regulating macrophage polarization and the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon. Methods: Forty-eight Rabbits were used to establish the mandibular distraction osteogenesis experimental model, randomly divided into 2 groups. Intermittent post-operative injections of 20 µg/kg PTH and normal saline were administered to the experimental and control groups, respectively. Regenerated new bone was examined using HE staining, osteoclast numbers were determined through tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, and macrophage polarization markers arginase 1 (Arg1) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expressions were elucidated using immunohistochemistry (IHC), the mRNA expression of CD206, CD11C, Arg1 and iNOS were detected using qPCR. Results: The bone trabeculae in the experimental group were thicker, with a more homogeneous structure and more new osteoid than in the control group. In the area of distraction osteogenesis, the osteoclast count in the experimental group was higher than in the control group (P < 0.05). IHC results indicated differential expressions of Arg1 and iNOS in the experimental group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Relative mRNA expressions of CD11c and iNOS were lower in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05), whereas the expressions of CD206 and Arg1 mRNA were higher in the experimental group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Intermittent PTH injections increased macrophage quantity in the mandible generated by distraction osteogenesis, downregulated iNOS, upregulated Arg1, and promoted macrophage polarization from M1 to M2 phenotype, thereby promoting mandibular distraction osteogenesis.

Transdermal delivery of iguratimod and colchicine ethosome by dissolving microneedle patch for the treatment of recurrent gout.

This study introduces a novel approach of repetitive modeling to simulate the pathological process of recurrent gout attacks in humans. This methodology addresses the instability issues present in rat models of gout, providing a more accurate representation of the damage recurrent gout episodes inflict on human skeletal systems. A soluble nanoneedle system encapsulating colchicine and iguratimod ethosomal formulations was developed. This system aims to modulate inflammatory cytokines and inhibit osteoclast activity, thereby treating inflammatory pain and bone damage associated with recurrent gout. Additionally, a comprehensive evaluation of the microneedles' appearance, morphology, mechanical properties, and penetration capability confirmed their effectiveness in penetrating the stratum corneum. Dissolution tests and skin irritation assessments demonstrated that these microneedles dissolve rapidly without irritating the skin. In vitro permeation studies indicated that transdermal drug delivery via these microneedles is more efficient and incurs lower drug loss compared to traditional topical applications. In vivo pharmacodynamic assessments conducted in animal models revealed significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects when both types of microneedles were used together. Further analyses, including X-ray imaging, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, Safranin-O/fast green staining, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining, and quantification of osteoclasts, confirmed the bone-protective effects of the microneedle combination. In conclusion, the findings of this research underscore the potential of this novel therapeutic approach for clinical application in the treatment of recurrent gout.

Accelerating GW Calculations of Point Defects with the Defect-Patched Screening Approximation.

The GW approximation has been widely accepted as an ab initio tool for calculating defect levels with the many-electron effect included. However, the GW simulation cost increases dramatically with the system size, and unfortunately, large supercells are often required to model low-density defects that are experimentally relevant. In this work, we propose to accelerate GW calculations of point defects by reducing the simulation cost of many-electron screening, which is the primary computational bottleneck. The random-phase approximation of many-electron screening is divided into two parts: one is the intrinsic screening, calculated using a unit cell of pristine structures, and the other is the defect-induced screening, calculated using the supercell within a small energy window. Depending on specific defects, one may only need to consider the intrinsic screening or include the defect contribution. This approach avoids the summation of many conduction states of supercells and significantly reduces the simulation cost. We have applied it to calculate various point defects, including neutral and charged defects in two-dimensional and bulk systems with small or large bandgaps. The results are consistent with those from the direct GW simulations. This defect-patched screening approach not only clarifies the roles of defects in many-electron screening but also paves the way to fast screen defect structures/materials for novel applications, including single-photon sources, quantum qubits, and quantum sensors.

Interface-Tuning of Ferroelectricity and Quadruple-Well State in CuInP2S6 via Ferroelectric Oxide.

Ferroelectric van der Waals CuInP2S6 possesses intriguing quadruple-well states and negative piezoelectricity. Its technological implementation has been impeded by the relatively low Curie temperature (bulk TC ∼ 42 °C) and the lack of precise domain control. Here we show that CuInP2S6 can be immune to the finite size effect and exhibits enhanced ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, and polar alignment in the ultrathin limit when it is interfaced with ferroelectric oxide PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 films. Piezoresponse force microscopy studies reveal that the polar domains in thin CuInP2S6 fully conform to those of the underlying PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3, where the piezoelectric coefficient changes sign and increases sharply with reducing thickness. High temperature in situ domain imaging points to a significantly enhanced TC of >200 °C for 13 nm CuInP2S6 on PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3. Density functional theory modeling and Monte Carlo simulations show that the enhanced polar alignment and TC can be attributed to interface-mediated structure distortion in CuInP2S6. Our study provides an effective material strategy to engineer the polar properties of CuInP2S6 for flexible nanoelectronic, optoelectronic, and mechanical applications.

Establishment and bioinformatics evaluation of the ethanol combined with palmitic acid-induced mouse hepatocyte AFLD model (the Hu-Qiu Model).

Chronic alcoholic liver disease has brought great harm to human health. Alcoholic fatty liver disease is the first stage in the progression of all chronic alcoholic liver diseases. At present, there is no cell model that fully matches the etiology (high-fat diet + alcohol) of human alcoholic fatty liver disease. We used 100 mM ethanol +6.25 µM PA to establish the ethanol combined with PA-induced mouse hepatocyte AFLD model (EP-AFLD hepatocyte model) and performed the RNA-seq transcriptome sequencing. Through bioinformatics analysis and comparison, we discovered that the EP-AFLD hepatocyte model was more suitable for studying the pathological mechanism of AFLD than the mouse AFLD hepatocyte model induced by ethanol alone. And through bioinformatics analysis, we further discovered that 77 genes from the differential expression gene set of EP-AFLD hepatocyte model were engaged in the pathological process of mouse AFLD and 40 genes were involved in the pathogenesis of both mouse AFLD and human AFLD. In this study, a novel mouse hepatocyte AFLD model was successfully established by combining ethanol and PA, which can be used to study the molecular mechanism of the pathogenesis of AFLD in mice or humans. This study will provide a brand-new in vitro experimental platform for the in-depth study of AFLD pathogenesis and the screening of AFLD therapeutic drugs.

[Trapping array-based preparative two-dimensional liquid chromatography for the purification of four components in tobacco leaves].

Two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) has gained increased attention because of its high peak capacity for separating complex samples. However, preparative 2D-LC aimed at isolating compounds is significantly different compared with one-dimensional liquid chromatography (1D-LC) in terms of method development and system configuration; thus, it is less developed than its analytical counterpart. The use of 2D-LC in large-scale product preparation has rarely been reported. Hence, a preparative 2D-LC system was developed in this study. The system was composed of one set of preparative LC modules as a separation system, with a dilution pump, switch valves, and trap column array as the interface, to enable the simultaneous isolation of several compounds. Tobacco was used as a sample, and the developed system was applied to isolate nicotine, chlorogenic acid, rutin, and solanesol. The chromatographic conditions were developed by investigating the trapping efficiency of different types of trap column packings, and chromatographic behaviors under different overload conditions. The four compounds were isolated in one 2D-LC run with high purity. The developed system features low cost because it employs medium-pressure isolation, excellent automation owing to its use of an online column switch, high stability, and capability for large-scale production. The isolation of chemicals from tobacco leaves as pharmaceutical raw materials could aid in the development of the tobacco industry and promote the local agricultural economy.

Construction and application of enhanced recovery after surgery-optimized management system with nurse-led multidisciplinary cooperation.

AIM: To evaluate the effect of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS)-optimized management system with nurse-led multidisciplinary cooperation. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental design. METHODS: Nursing department cooperated with medical and clinical department to establish an ERAS-optimized management system. After the system was developed, it was applied in surgical departments of the hospital. Using convenience sampling, 220 selective surgical patients, 82 nurses and 98 doctors from January 1st, 2021 to July 31st, 2021 were selected as the trial group. 220 selective surgical patients, 82 nurses and 98 doctors were selected as the control group from January 1st, 2020 to July 31st, 2020. ERAS observation indicators were compared between the two groups before and 6 months after implementation. The nurse professional identity scores and satisfaction of medical cooperation scores of the two groups at different time points were analysed by repeated analysis of variance. RESULTS: After the implementation, ERAS observation indicators in the trial group were better than the control group (p < 0.05). There were significant differences in the group main effect, time main effect and interaction effect of nurse professional identity scores, satisfaction of medical cooperation scores and scores in all dimensions between the two groups (p < 0.05). The scores of the experimental group at 3 months and 6 months after implementation were better than those of the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Enhanced recovery after surgery-optimized management system with nurse-led multidisciplinary cooperation was an effective working method. It could promote patients recovery and enhance nurse professional identity.

MiR-379-5p Promotes Chondrocyte Proliferation via Inhibition of PI3K/Akt Pathway by Targeting YBX1 in Osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the ability of miR-379-5p to influence the proliferation of osteoarthritis chondrocytes and elucidated the regulatory mechanism of miR-379-5p in osteoarthritis. METHODS: Real time polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR) was used to detect the expression of miR-379-5p and YBX1 in knee articular cartilages of human. Cell proliferation, inflammatory factors, extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation-associated proteins and proteins in PI3K/Akt pathway were assessed in rat primary chondrocytes treated with interleukin (IL)-1ß or/and miR-379-5p mimics or miR-379-5p inhibitor via cell counting assay kit-8 (CCK-8), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence and Western blotting (WB). The target of miR-379-5p predicted by TargetScan and miRwalk software was verified by luciferase reporter assay. Safranin O-fast green staining, immunohistochemistry, and WB were performed to observe the effect of miR-379-5p agomir on development of osteoarthritis in rats. RESULTS: MiR-379-5p was down-regulated in human osteoarthritic tissues and negatively correlated with YBX1 expression. High level of miR-379-5p in chondrocytes with IL-1ß stimulated increased cell viability, the expression of proliferation-related protein and extracellular matrix (ECM)-related proteins collagen II and aggrecan. However, the expression of inflammatory factors and ECM-related proteins matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-1) and MMP-13 was decreased. Luciferase reporting assay verified the targeting relationship between miR-379-5p and YBX1. This function of miR-379-5p was exerted through PI3K/Akt pathway and could be blocked by the PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitor LY294002. MiR-379-5p agomir promoted the articular chondrocytes proliferation and alleviated cartilage degradation in vivo. CONCLUSION: Our findings reveal that miR-379-5p can promote the articular chondrocytes proliferation in osteoarthritis (OA) by interacting with YBX1 and regulating PI3K/Akt pathway. Restoring miR-379-5p might be a future therapeutic strategy for OA.

Effect of elevated carbon dioxide on chicken eggs during the early and late incubation periods.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is always maintained at ambient levels by ventilation in commercial egg incubators. However, elevated CO2 levels during the early and late periods have been reported to improve the quality of chicks and shorten the hatch window. This study investigated the effect of precise CO2 supplementation during the early and late periods of incubation on embryo growth and incubation performance by developing and using a CO2 supplementation system to increase the CO2 level in an experimental egg incubator. The CO2 level was maintained at 1% in the early period (from the beginning to the 10th day of incubation, E0-E10) and in the late period (from internal pipping (IP) to the 21st day of incubation (E21), IP-E21) in an incubator for the treatment group, whereas the CO2 level was maintained at the ambient level in the other incubators for the control group. A comparative assessment of embryonic development, hatching characteristics, and hormone and nutrient levels was conducted for each trial. The experiment comprised three trials, with 300 Jing Hong No. 1 breeding eggs in each incubator. The elevated CO2 treatment significantly shortened the chick hatching time (H0) by 4 h (P < 0.05) and the hatch window by 3 h (P < 0.05) without affecting hatchability, chick weight at 1 d of age, brooding period, or quality score. At external pipping (EP), the heart weight, intestinal weight, relative intestinal weight, and relative heart weight in the treatment group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). In addition, the embryonic intestine, relative intestine, and relative heart weights of the newly hatched chicks in the treatment group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05) at H0. The treatment significantly increased the concentration of corticosterone in the embryonic plasma during the period from IP to EP (P < 0.05), promoted the secretion of triiodothyronine and tetraiodothyronine (P < 0.05), and increased the glycogen content of the embryonic liver on E21 (P < 0.05). This result indicates that elevated CO2 (1%) during the early and late periods of incubation accelerated embryonic organ development and shortened the chick hatching time and hatch window without affecting hatchability or hatchling quality, which can be explained by the synergistic functions of the secretion of plasma corticosterone and thyroid hormones and the accumulation of liver glycogen between the early and late periods of incubation.

Non-Coding RNAs of Extracellular Vesicles: Key Players in Organ-Specific Metastasis and Clinical Implications.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are heterogeneous membrane-encapsulated vesicles released by most cells. They act as multifunctional regulators of intercellular communication by delivering bioactive molecules, including non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Metastasis is a major cause of cancer-related death. Most cancer cells disseminate and colonize a specific target organ via EVs, a process known as "organ-specific metastasis". Mounting evidence has shown that EVs are enriched with ncRNAs, and various EV-ncRNAs derived from tumor cells influence organ-specific metastasis via different mechanisms. Due to the tissue-specific expression of EV-ncRNAs, they could be used as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the treatment of tumor metastasis in various types of cancer. In this review, we have discussed the underlying mechanisms of EV-delivered ncRNAs in the most common organ-specific metastases of liver, bone, lung, brain, and lymph nodes. Moreover, we summarize the potential clinical applications of EV-ncRNAs in organ-specific metastasis to fill the gap between benches and bedsides.