Case report: Clinicopathological characteristic of two cases of primary endometrial squamous cell carcinoma and review of the literature.

Primary endometrial squamous cell carcinoma (PESCC) is a rare malignant tumor. To investigate the clinical and pathological features of PESCC, two cases of PESCC in Fujian Maternal and Child Health Hospital were retrospectively studied and the literatures were reviewed. Both of the two cases were menopausal women aged 57-62 years, clinically presenting with "vaginal discharge". Case 1 was a non-keratinising squamous cell carcinoma with high-risk HPV infection. Tumor infiltrated in deep myometrium with multifocal intravascular thrombus and macro metastases to one pelvic lymph node (1/15) and abdominal aortic lymph node (1/1). Lung metastasis occurred 36 months after the surgery. After surgical resection and without postoperative supplemental therapy, the patient remained tumor-free for 110 months to date. Case 2 had a history of breast cancer for 5 years and long-term intake of aromatase inhibitor drugs without HPV infection. It was a keratinized squamous cell carcinoma. Tumor also infiltrated in deep myometrium with multifocal intravascular thrombus and one pelvic lymph node metastasis (1/18), However, no metastasis was seen elsewhere. To date, the patient survived for 16 months without tumor after surgery. Both of the two cases expressed squamous epithelial markers P40, P63, and CK5/6, but neither expressed PAX8 or PR. Case 1 had diffuse expression of P16, wild-type P53, and ER-negative. Case 2 had negative P16, mutant P53, and focal positive ER. PESCC is often associated with HPV infection and low estrogen levels. However, studies in the literatures have found that P16 expression is not always consistent with HPV infection, indicating that PESCC cannot be easily classified as HPV-associated or non-dependent like cervical cancer. There are two main patterns of P16 and P53 expression, P16-positive/P53 wild-type and P16-negative/P53-mutant, but no positive expression of both has been seen so far. It is worth noting that we reported the second case of PESCC with a history of breast cancer, where the patient had been taking the oral aromatase inhibitor drug (exemestane) for a long period of time to reduce the estrogen level, indicating the low estrogen level may be also a key factor in the pathogenesis of PESCC.

Optogenetically modified human embryonic stem cell-derived otic neurons establish functional synaptic connection with cochlear nuclei.

Spiral ganglia neurons (SGNs) impairment can cause deafness. One important therapeutic approach involves utilizing stem cells to restore impaired auditory circuitry. Nevertheless, the inadequate implementation of research methodologies poses a challenge in accurately assessing the functionality of derived cells within the circuit. Here, we describe a novel method for converting human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into otic neurons (ONs) and assess their functional connectivity using an optogenetic approach with cells or an organotypic slice of rat cochlear nucleus (CN) in coculture. Embryonic stem cell-derived otic neurons (eONs) exhibited SGN marker expression and generated functional synaptic connection when cocultured with cochlear nucleus neurons (CNNs). Synapsin 1 and VGLUT expression are found in the cochlear nucleus of brain slices, where eONs projected processes during the coculture of eONs and CN brain slices. Action potential spikes and INa+/IK+ of CNNs increased in tandem with light stimulations to eONs. These findings provide further evidence that eONs may be a candidate source to treat SGN-deafness.

Intelligent Gas Detection: g-C3N4/Polypyrrole Decorated Alginate Paper as Smart Selective NH3/NO2 Sensors at Room Temperature.

Chemiresistive NH3/NO2 sensors are attracting considerable attention for use in air-conditioning systems. However, the existing sensors suffer from cross-sensitivity, detection limit, and power consumption, owing to the inadequate charge-transfer ability of gas-sensing materials. Herein, we develop a flexible NH3/NO2 sensor based on graphitic carbon nitride/polypyrrole decorated alginate paper (AP@g-CN/PPy). The flexible sensor can work at room temperature and exhibits a positive response of 23-246% and a negative response of 37-262% toward 0.1-5 ppm of NH3 and NO2, which is ∼4.5 times and ∼7.0 times higher than a pristine PPy sensor. Moreover, the sensor exhibits flexibility, reproducibility, long-term stability, anti-interference, and high resilience to humidity, indicating its promising potential in real applications. Using the 9 feature parameters extracted from the transient response, a matched deep learning model was developed to achieve qualitative recognition of different types of gases with distinguished decision boundaries. This work not only provides an alternative gas-sensing material for dual NH3/NO2 sensing but also establishes an intelligent strategy to identify hazardous gases under an interfering atmosphere.

Management of refined and personalized newborn blood specimen collection.

Background: Iatrogenic blood loss is an important cause of neonatal anemia. In this study, a spreadsheet tool was developed to reduce blood collection, providing a new idea for the prevention of iatrogenic blood loss in newborns. Methods: Based on hematocrit, minimum test volume and dead volume, a new tool was to calculate the minimum blood collection volume and the number of containers required for the test portfolio. We collected data from October 2022 to October 2023 from Xiamen Maternal and Child Health Hospital for analysis and validation. Results: During this year, there were 16,434 patients and 13,696 plasma/serological samples in the neonatology department. Among them, there were 8 test combinations of greater than 1%, and 9490 samples in total. According to the hospital manual, the recommended amount of blood collection is 27,534 ml and 9490 containers. Through the analysis of this tool, total blood collection was 8864.77 ml, marked qnantity of upward containers (closest level to the calculated blood collection volume) was 10301 ml, and the amount of containers was 8835, which decreased by 67.8%, 62.58% and 6.9% respectively. Besides, if the hematocrit information cannot be obtained in advance and the high hematocrit is calculated as 0.8, the recommended amount of blood collection is 14334.3 ml, and the marked amount of the upward container markering is 17340 ml, decreasing by 47.9% and 37.02% respectively. Conclusion: We have developed an auxiliary tool that can manage neonatal blood specimen collection in a fine and personalized way and can be applied among different laboratory instruments by parameters modification.

Elucidation of the beneficial role of co-fermented whole grain quinoa and black barley with Lactobacillus on rats fed a western-style diet via a multi-omics approach.

Long-term consumption of Western-style diet (WSD) can lead to metabolic disorders and dysbiosis of gut microbiota, presenting a critical risk factor for various chronic conditions such as fatty liver disease. In the present study, we investigated the beneficial role of co-fermented whole grain quinoa and black barley with Lactobacillus kisonensis on rats fed a WSD. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, aged six weeks and weighing 180 ± 10 g, were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the normal control group (NC, n = 7), the WSD group (HF, n = 7), and the WSD supplemented with a co-fermented whole grain quinoa with black barley (FQB) intervention group (HFF, n = 7). The findings indicated that FQB was effective in suppressing body weight gain, mitigating hepatic steatosis, reducing perirenal fat accumulation, and ameliorating pathological damage in the livers and testicular tissues of rats. Additionally, FQB intervention led to decreased levels of serum uric acid (UA), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). These advantageous effects can be ascribed to the regulation of FQB on gut microbiota dysbiosis, which includes the restoration of intestinal flora diversity, reduction of the F/B ratio, and promotion of probiotics abundance, such as Akkermansia and [Ruminococcus] at the genus level. The study employed the UPLC-Q-TOF-MSE technique to analyze metabolites in fecal and hepatic samples. The findings revealed that FQB intervention led to a regression in the levels of specific metabolites in feces, including oxoadipic acid and 20a, 22b-dihydroxycholesterol, as well as in the liver, such as pyridoxamine, xanthine and xanthosine. The transcriptome sequencing of liver tissues revealed that FQB intervention modulated the mRNA expression of specific genes, including Cxcl12, Cidea, and Gck, known for their roles in anti-inflammatory and anti-insulin resistance mechanisms in the context of WSD. Our findings indicate that co-fermented whole-grain quinoa with black barley has the potential to alleviate metabolic disorders and chronic inflammation resulting from the consumption of WSD.

Benzoselenadiazole-Functionalized H-Bonded Arylamide Foldamers: Solvent-Responsive Properties and Helix Self-Assembly Directed by Chalcogen Bonding in Solid State.

In this study, a series of H-bonded arylamide foldamers bearing benzoselenadiazole ends with solvent-responsive properties have been synthesized. In dichloromethane or dimethyl sulfoxide solvents, the molecules exhibit meniscus or linear structures, respectively, which can be attributed to the unique intramolecular hydrogen bonding behavior evidenced by 1D 1H NMR and 2D NOESY spectra. UV-vis spectroscopy experiments show that the absorption wavelength of H-bonded arylamide foldamers are significantly red-shifted due to the presence of benzoselenadiazole group. In addition, the crystal structures reveal that effective intermolecular dual Se ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ N interactions between benzoselenadiazole groups induce further assembly of the monomers. Remarkably, supramolecular linear and double helices structures are constructed under the synergistic induction of intramolecular hydrogen bonding and intermolecular chalcogen bonding. Additionally, 2D DOSY diffusion spectra and theoretical modelling based on density functional theory (DFT) are performed to explore the persistence of intermolecular Se ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ N interactions beyond the crystalline state.

Dual-Dependency Attention Transformer for Fine-Grained Visual Classification.

Visual transformers (ViTs) are widely used in various visual tasks, such as fine-grained visual classification (FGVC). However, the self-attention mechanism, which is the core module of visual transformers, leads to quadratic computational and memory complexity. The sparse-attention and local-attention approaches currently used by most researchers are not suitable for FGVC tasks. These tasks require dense feature extraction and global dependency modeling. To address this challenge, we propose a dual-dependency attention transformer model. It decouples global token interactions into two paths. The first is a position-dependency attention pathway based on the intersection of two types of grouped attention. The second is a semantic dependency attention pathway based on dynamic central aggregation. This approach enhances the high-quality semantic modeling of discriminative cues while reducing the computational cost to linear computational complexity. In addition, we develop discriminative enhancement strategies. These strategies increase the sensitivity of high-confidence discriminative cue tracking with a knowledge-based representation approach. Experiments on three datasets, NABIRDS, CUB, and DOGS, show that the method is suitable for fine-grained image classification. It finds a balance between computational cost and performance.

A critical review of distribution, toxicological effects, current analytical methods and future prospects of synthetic musks in aquatic environments.

Synthetic musks (SMs) have gained widespread utilization in daily consumer products, leading to their widespread dissemination in aquatic environments through various pathways. Over the past few decades, the production of SMs has consistently risen, prompting significant concern over their potential adverse impacts on ecosystems and human health. Although several studies have focused on the development of analytical techniques for detecting SMs in biological samples and cosmetic products, a comprehensive evaluation of their global distribution in diverse aquatic media and biological matrices remains lacking. This review aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the occurrence of SMs in both aquatic and various biological matrices, investigating their worldwide distribution trends, assessing their ecological toxicity, and comparing different methodologies for processing and analysis of SMs. The findings underscore the prevalence of polycyclic musks as predominant SMs, with consumption of various products in different countries leading to contrasting distribution of contaminants. Furthermore, the migration of SMs from sediments to the water phase is investigated, indicating the role of solid-phase reservoirs. Incomplete degradation of SMs in the environment could contribute to their accumulation in aquatic systems, impacting the growth and oxidative stress of aquatic organisms, and having a possibility of genotoxicity to them. Human exposure data highlight substantial risks for vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and infants. Moreover, contemporary methods for SMs analysis are presented in this review, particularly focusing on advancements made in the last five years. Finally, research enhancement and critical questions regarding the analysis of SMs are provided, offering suggestions for future research endeavors.

Fabrication of carbon dots-embedded luminescent transparent wood with ultraviolet blocking and thermal insulating capacities towards smart window application.

To expand functions of transparent wood (TW) including fluorescence, ultraviolet blocking, heat preservation and insulation, we adopted carbon quantum dots (CQDs) to prepare luminescent transparent wood. CQDs with yellow/red fluorescence (YCD/RCD) were prepared by chitosan and o-phenylenediamine. Afterwards, Balsa woods were pretreated to obtain wood frameworks (DW/LW), which were further combined with epoxy resin for achieving transparent woods (DW-TW/LW-TW). Results showed LW retained more lignin, the LW-TW blocked more ultraviolet light, displaying the better visible transmission and mechanical strength than DW-TW. After adding YCD and RCD to LW-TW, the yellow and red fluorescence transparent woods with outstanding mechanical and ultraviolet blocking properties were prepared, especially the red fluorescence transparent wood (RTW). Specifically, the tensile strength and elongation at break of RTW reached up to 19.39 MPa and 5.35 %, respectively. Moreover, RTW could block 78.8 % of UV-B light and 78 % of UV-A light, respectively. Besides, RTW possessed excellent visible transmission (70.3 %) and UV blocking (88.87 %). Significantly, both RTW and YTW displayed outstanding water repellency, excellent durability, good thermal stability and insulation. Predictably, luminescent transparent woods certainly will enhance the adaptability of wood, and broaden its applications in green decoration, lighting setup, sensor and other fields.

Pulmonary Hypertension Induces Serotonin Hyperreactivity and Metabolic Reprogramming in Coronary Arteries via NOX1/4-TRPM2 Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND: Clinical evidence revealed abnormal prevalence of coronary artery (CA) disease in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). The mechanistic connection between PH and CA disease is unclear. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), reactive oxygen species, and Ca2+ signaling have been implicated in both PH and CA disease. Our recent study indicates that NOXs (NADPH [nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate] oxidases) and TRPM2 (transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 2) are key components of their interplay. We hypothesize that activation of the NOX-TRPM2 pathway facilitates the remodeling of CA in PH. METHODS: Left and right CAs from chronic hypoxia and monocrotaline-induced PH rats were collected to study vascular reactivity, gene expression, metabolism, and mitochondrial function. Inhibitors or specific siRNA were used to examine the pathological functions of NOX1/4-TRPM2 in CA smooth muscle cells. RESULTS: Significant CA remodeling and 5-hydroxytryptamine hyperreactivity in the right CA were observed in PH rats. NOX1/4-mediated reactive oxygen species production coupled with TRPM2-mediated Ca2+ influx contributed to 5-hydroxytryptamine hyperresponsiveness. CA smooth muscle cells from chronic hypoxia-PH rats exhibited increased proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and metabolic reprogramming in an NOX1/4-TRPM2-dependent manner. Furthermore, the NOX1/4-TRPM2 pathway participated in mitochondrial dysfunction, involving mitochondrial DNA damage, reactive oxygen species production, elevated mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation, and mitochondrial fission. In vivo knockdown of NOX1/4 alleviated PH and suppressed CA remodeling in chronic hypoxia rats. CONCLUSIONS: PH triggers an increase in 5-hydroxytryptamine reactivity in the right CA and provokes metabolic reprogramming and mitochondrial disruption in CA smooth muscle cells via NOX1/4-TRPM2 activation. This signaling pathway may play an important role in CA remodeling and CA disease in PH.

Bamboo-Modulated Helical Carbon Nanotubes for Rechargeable Zn-Air Battery.

The high-performance and sustainable electrocatalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are essential for rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs). In this paper, a natural all-components bamboo is provided as the carbon source, and melamine and cobalt chloride are provided as the nitrogen and cobalt sources, respectively. As a result, the unique helical carbon nanotubes (HCNTs) encapsulated cobalt nanoparticles are prepared, which are acted as ORR/OER electrocatalysts to improve ZABs performance. The resultant HCNTs contribute to high ORR/OER activities via exposing more Co─N sites, providing excellent electron conductivity, and facilitating mass transfer of the reactant. The HCNTs assembled rechargeable liquid ZABs showed a maximum output power density of 226 mW cm-2 and a low voltage gap of 0.85 V for 330 h cycles. The flexible all-solid-state ZABs achieved the maximum power density with 59.4 mW cm-2 and charge-discharge cycles over 25 h. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the increase of Co─N at HCNTs effectively regulates the electronic structure of Co, optimizing the binding affinity of oxygen intermediates and resulting in the low ORR/OER overpotentials. This work paves the way for transforming renewable bamboo biomass into versatile electrocatalysts, which boosts the development of next-generation energy storage and conversion devices.

Anti-Inflammatory Phomalones from the Deep-Sea-Derived Fungus Trichobotrys effuse FS522.

Four new phomalones A-D (1-4), together with five known analogues (5-9) were isolated from the deep-sea-derived fungus Trichobotrys effuse FS522. Their structures of the new compounds established by analysis of their NMR and HR-ESI-MS spectroscopic data, and the absolute configurations of 2 was determined by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. compounds 4, 6 and 8 substantially inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO) with IC50 values of 4.64, 13.90, and 34.07 µM.

An emerging research: the role of hepatocellular carcinoma-derived exosomal circRNAs in the immune microenvironment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common primary malignancy of the liver, is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death and is associated with a poor prognosis. The tumor microenvironment (TME) of HCC comprises immune, immunosuppressive, and interstitial cells with hypoxic, angiogenic, metabolic reprogramming, inflammatory, and immunosuppressive features. Exosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles that secrete biologically active signaling molecules such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), microribonucleic acid (miRNA), proteins, and lipids. These signaling molecules act as messengers in the tumor microenvironment, especially the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. Exosomal circRNAs reshape the tumor microenvironment by prompting hypoxic stress response, stimulating angiogenesis, contributing to metabolic reprogramming, facilitating inflammatory changes in the HCC cells and inducing tumor immunosuppression. The exosomes secreted by HCC cells carry circRNA into immune cells, which intervene in the activation of immune cells and promote the overexpression of immune checkpoints to regulate immune response, leading tumor cells to acquire immunosuppressive properties. Furthermore, immunosuppression is the final result of a combination of TME-related factors, including hypoxia, angiogenesis, metabolic reprogramming, and inflammation changes. In conclusion, exosomal circRNA accelerates the tumor progression by adjusting the phenotype of the tumor microenvironment and ultimately forming an immunosuppressive microenvironment. HCC-derived exosomal circRNA can affect HCC cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and induction of chemoresistance. Therefore, this review aimed to summarize the composition and function of these exosomes, the role that HCC-derived exosomal circRNAs play in microenvironment formation, and the interactions between exosomes and immune cells. This review outlines the role of exosomal circRNAs in the malignant phenotype of HCC and provides a preliminary exploration of the clinical utility of exosomal circRNAs.

White-emitting orthosilicate phosphor α-Sr2SiO4:Ce3+/Eu2+/K+: a bimodal temperature sensor with excellent optical thermometric sensitivity.

Non-contact temperature sensors with low cost, high reliability and high sensitivity have attracted increasing research interest in recent years. In this study, we synthesized a bimodal optical temperature sensor Sr2SiO4:Ce3+/Eu2+/K+ with excellent thermometric sensitivity through a high-temperature solid-state reaction method. In the matrix of α-Sr2SiO4, Ce3+ luminescence exhibits excellent thermal stability (∼129.1%@250 °C), while Eu2+ shows strong thermal quenching (∼21.7%@250 °C), leading to a significant change in the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) of Ce3+ (437 nm) and Eu2+ (550 nm) as a function of temperature. This feature enables the phosphor exhibiting outstanding sensitivity in the temperature range of 298-523 K. To be exact, it demonstrates a maximal relative sensitivity of 0.93% K-1 at 348 K. Its absolute sensitivity linearly increases and reaches 3.46% K-1 at 523 K. Besides, it has a large chromaticity shift (ΔE = 228 × 10-3 in 298-523 K) against temperature, making the temperature change visible to the naked eye. We first demonstrate a CIE chromaticity coordinate technique for temperature sensing with high accuracy and good sensitivity by using the function of x or (x2 + y2)0.5 against T. These unique optical thermometric features allow Sr2SiO4:Ce3+/Eu2+/K+ to serve as an accurate and reliable thermometer probe candidate for temperature sensing applications.

Estimation of Knee Joint Angle from Surface EMG Using Multiple Kernels Relevance Vector Regression.

In wearable robots, the application of surface electromyography (sEMG) signals in motion intention recognition is a hot research issue. To improve the viability of human-robot interactive perception and to reduce the complexity of the knee joint angle estimation model, this paper proposed an estimation model for knee joint angle based on the novel method of multiple kernel relevance vector regression (MKRVR) through offline learning. The root mean square error, mean absolute error, and R2_score are used as performance indicators. By comparing the estimation model of MKRVR and least squares support vector regression (LSSVR), the MKRVR performs better on the estimation of the knee joint angle. The results showed that the MKRVR can estimate the knee joint angle with a continuous global MAE of 3.27° ± 1.2°, RMSE of 4.81° ± 1.37°, and R2 of 0.8946 ± 0.07. Therefore, we concluded that the MKRVR for the estimation of the knee joint angle from sEMG is viable and could be used for motion analysis and the application of recognition of the wearer's motion intentions in human-robot collaboration control.

Self-Supporting Co/CeO2 Heterostructures for Ampere-Level Current Density Alkaline Water Electrolysis.

Remodeling the active surface through fabricating heterostructures can substantially enhance alkaline water electrolysis driven by renewable electrical energy. However, there are still great challenges in the synthesis of highly reactive and robust heterostructures to achieve both ampere-level current density hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we report a new Co/CeO2 heterojunction self-supported electrode for sustainable overall water splitting. The self-supporting Co/CeO2 heterostructures required only low overpotentials of 31.9 ± 2.2, 253.3 ± 2.7, and 316.7 ± 3 mV for HER and 214.1 ± 1.4, 362.3 ± 1.9, and 400.3 ± 3.7 mV for OER at 0.01, 0.5, and 1.0 A·cm-2, respectively, being one of the best Co-based bifunctional electrodes. Electrolyzer constructed from this electrode acting as an anode and cathode merely required cell voltages of 1.92 ± 0.02 V at 1.0 A·cm-2 for overall water splitting. Multiple characterization techniques combined with density functional theory calculations disclosed the different active sites on the anode and cathode, and the charge redistributions on the heterointerfaces that can optimize the adsorption of H and oxygen-containing intermediates, respectively. This study presents the tremendous prospective of self-supporting heterostructures for effective and economical overall water splitting.

Apheresis Technique for Acute Hyperlipidemic Pancreatitis: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The apheresis technique is increasingly used in patients with hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis (HTGP), while its role in this context is still not well established. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of an apheresis therapy compared to usual care in such a patient population. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library databases up to July 10, 2021. Studies were included if they focused on HTGP treated with or without apheresis technique. We used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to assess the quality of the included studies. The primary outcome was the mortality rate. We also explored the heterogeneity, sensitivity analysis, subgroup analysis, and publication bias. RESULTS: Sixteen observational studies with 1476 adults were included. The overall quality of included studies was moderate. Despite better TG level reduction with apheresis therapy (mean difference [MD], 12.27 mmol/L, 95% CI, 3.74 to 20.81; I2 = 78%; P = 0.005), use of apheresis did not reduce the mortality (odds ratio [OR], 1.01; 95% CI, 0.65 to 1.59; P = 0.95) compared with usual care. This result was further confirmed by sensitivity analysis, subgroup analysis. The length of stay in hospital (MD, 0.96 days; 95% CI, - 1.22 to 3.14; I2 = 70%; P = 0.39) and most complications were similar between the groups, while hospital cost was significantly higher in the apheresis group. CONCLUSIONS: The apheresis technique did not decrease the mortality in HTGP patients compared with usual care. Until the results of high-quality RCTs are known, these findings do not support the routine use of the apheresis technique in such a patient population.

Molecule-Enhanced Electrocatalysis of Sustainable Oxygen Evolution Using Organoselenium Functionalized Metal-Organic Nanosheets.

Remolding the reactivity of metal active sites is critical to facilitate renewable electricity-powered water electrolysis. Doping heteroatoms, such as Se, into a metal crystal lattice has been considered an effective approach, yet usually suffers from loss of functional heteroatoms during harsh electrocatalytic conditions, thus leading to the gradual inactivation of the catalysts. Here, we report a new heteroatom-containing molecule-enhanced strategy toward sustainable oxygen evolution improvement. An organoselenium ligand, bis(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)selenide containing robust C-Se-C covalent bonds equipped in the precatalyst of ultrathin metal-organic nanosheets Co-SeMON, is revealed to significantly enhance the catalytic mass activity of the cobalt site by 25 times, as well as extend the catalyst operation time in alkaline conditions by 1 or 2 orders of magnitude compared with these reported metal selenides. A combination of various in situ/ex situ spectroscopic techniques, ab initio molecular dynamics, and density functional theory calculations unveiled the organoselenium intensified mechanism, in which the nonclassical bonding of Se to O-containing intermediates endows adsorption-energy regulation beyond the conventional scaling relationship. Our results showcase the great potential of molecule-enhanced catalysts for highly efficient and economical water oxidation.

CDX2 as a Predictive Biomarker Involved in Immunotherapy Response Suppresses Metastasis through EMT in Colorectal Cancer.

Background: Studies have confirmed that Caudal Type Homeobox 2 (CDX2) plays a tumor suppressor role in colorectal cancer (CRC) and as a prognostic and predictive marker for colorectal cancer. The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a transdifferentiation process, providing migratory and invasive properties to cancer cells during tumor progression. However, the role of CDX2 during the activation of EMT in CRC maintains controversial. Aim: To investigate whether CDX2 is associated with EMT in CRC. Methods: Forty-six CRC patients were included in the study. Expressions of CDX2, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin in all CRC patients were detected by IHC. ROC assays were applied to detect cut-off points for IHC scores to distinguish high and low expressions of CDX2 in 46 CRC samples. The prognostic value of CDX2 was statistically analyzed. MTT, Western blot, invasion, and migration assays in vitro were employed to explore the function of CDX2. Results: We observed that high expressions of CDX2 and E-cadherin as well as low expressions of N-cadherin were significantly correlated with favorable prognosis. The levels of CDX2 protein exhibited a positive associated with E-cadherin while negative correlation with N-cadherin. Then, the low expression of CDX2 and high expression of CA199 in combination are positively related with poor prognosis. Overexpression of CDX2 reduced expression of MMP-2 and diminished cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, while knockdown CDX2 enhanced MMP-2 expression and increased cell proliferation, invasion, and migration in HCT-116 cells. CDX2 was correlated with expression of EMT markers. Overexpression of CDX2 suppressed the EMT markers indicating that CDX2 suppresses CRC cell viability, invasion, and metastasis through inhibiting EMT. Finally, we found that the expression of CDX2 was negatively associated with Th1 cells, macrophages, Th2 cells, cytotoxic cells, T cells, and T helper cells. Conclusions: These results indicated CDX2 as prognostic biomarkers involved in immunotherapy response for CRC. CDX2 loss promotes metastasis in CRC through a CDX2-dependent mechanism.

Nitrogen balance and outcomes in critically ill patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Nitrogen balance (NB) is a commonly used nutrition indicator in clinical practice, while its relation to the interpretation of protein malnutrition and outcomes in critically ill patients remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of NB on prognosis in such a patient population. Methods: We searched for relevant studies in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database up to May 10, 2022. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between NB (initial, final, or absolute change of NB levels) and prognosis and important clinical outcomes in critically ill patients. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and mean differences (MDs) together with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. We also conducted subgroup analyses to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Results: Eight studies with 1,409 patients were eligible. These studies were moderate to high quality. When pooled, the initial NB was comparable between the survival and non-survival groups (five studies, MD 1.20, 95% CI, -0.70 to 3.11, I 2 = 77%; P = 0.22), while a significantly higher final NB in the survival group than that in the death group (two studies, MD 3.69, 95% CI, 1.92-5.46, I 2 = 55%; P < 0.0001). Two studies provided the absolute change of NB over time and suggested survival patients had more increased NB (MD 4.16 g/day, 95% CI, 3.70-4.61, I 2 = 0%; P < 0.00001). Similarly, for studies utilizing multivariate logistic regression, we found an improved NB (four studies, OR 0.85, 95% CI, 0.73-0.99, I 2 = 61%; P = 0.04) but not an initial NB (two studies, OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.78-1.08, I 2 = 55%; P = 0.31) was significantly associated the risk of all-cause mortality. These results were further confirmed in subgroup analyses. In addition, patients with improved NB had more protein and calorie intake and a similar length of stay in hospital than those without. Conclusions: Our results suggested that an improved NB but not the initial NB level was associated with all-cause mortality in critically ill patients. This highlights the requirement for dynamic monitoring of NB during nutrition treatment. Further randomized clinical trials examining the impact of NB-guided protein intake on clinical outcomes in critically ill patients are warranted. Systematic review registration: INPLASY202250134, https://doi.org/10.37766/inplasy2022.5.0134.