Retroperitoneal dermoid cyst complicated with uterine adenomyoma: a case report and literature review.

Pelvic masses frequently originate from the pelvic cavity and are often associated with uterine, ovarian, or intestinal disorders. This report describes the case of a patient with a pelvic mass diagnosed as a retroperitoneal dermoid cyst at our hospital. We analyzed this case and conducted a literature review, to mitigate the risk of misdiagnosis and enhance the treatment of retroperitoneal masses.

A Two-color Single-molecule Sequencing Platform and Its Clinical Applications.

DNA sequencers have become increasingly important research and diagnostic tools over the past 20 years. In this study, we developed a single-molecule desktop sequencer, GenoCare 1600 (GenoCare), which utilizes amplification-free library preparation and two-color sequencing-by-synthesis chemistry, making it more user-friendly compared with previous single-molecule sequencing platforms for clinical use. Using the GenoCare platform, we sequenced an Escherichia coli standard sample and achieved a consensus accuracy exceeding 99.99%. We also evaluated the sequencing performance of this platform in microbial mixtures and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) samples from throat swabs. Our findings indicate that the GenoCare platform allows for microbial quantitation, sensitive identification of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, and accurate detection of virus mutations, as confirmed by Sanger sequencing, demonstrating its remarkable potential in clinical application.

Fasting-Induced Molting Impacts the Intestinal Health by Altering the Gut Microbiota.

Fasting-induced molting (FIM) is a common method used to improve the laying performance of aged laying hens. Nevertheless, this approach may impose various stresses on chickens, such as disruptions in intestinal flora and inflammation issues within the intestines. However, the impact of an imbalance in intestinal flora on intestinal health during the FIM process remains elusive. Therefore, intestinal injury, the microbiome, and the metabolome were analyzed individually and integrated to elucidate the impact of the intestinal flora on intestinal health during the FIM process. The findings indicated that fasting resulted in a notable reduction in villus height and villus/crypt ratio, coupled with elevated levels of intestinal inflammation and permeability. During the fasting period, microbiota compositions changed. The abundance of Escherichia_Shigella increased, while the abundance of Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013 and Lactobacillus decreased. Escherichia_Shigella was positively correlated with Citrinin and Sterobilin, which lead to intestinal inflammation. Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013 and Lactobacillus exhibited positive correlations with Lanthionine and reduced Glutathione, thereby reducing intestinal inflammation. This study screened the intestinal probiotics, Ruminococcaceae UCG-013 and Lactobacillus, that influence gut health during the fasting period, providing an experimental basis for improving gut microbiota and reducing intestinal inflammation during the FIM process.

MultiTrans: Multi-branch transformer network for medical image segmentation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Transformer, which is notable for its ability of global context modeling, has been used to remedy the shortcomings of Convolutional neural networks (CNN) and break its dominance in medical image segmentation. However, the self-attention module is both memory and computational inefficient, so many methods have to build their Transformer branch upon largely downsampled feature maps or adopt the tokenized image patches to fit their model into accessible GPUs. This patch-wise operation restricts the network in extracting pixel-level intrinsic structural or dependencies inside each patch, hurting the performance of pixel-level classification tasks. METHODS: To tackle these issues, we propose a memory- and computation-efficient self-attention module to enable reasoning on relatively high-resolution features, promoting the efficiency of learning global information while effective grasping fine spatial details. Furthermore, we design a novel Multi-Branch Transformer (MultiTrans) architecture to provide hierarchical features for handling objects with variable shapes and sizes in medical images. By building four parallel Transformer branches on different levels of CNN, our hybrid network aggregates both multi-scale global contexts and multi-scale local features. RESULTS: MultiTrans achieves the highest segmentation accuracy on three medical image datasets with different modalities: Synapse, ACDC and M&Ms. Compared to the Standard Self-Attention (SSA), the proposed Efficient Self-Attention (ESA) can largely reduce the training memory and computational complexity while even slightly improve the accuracy. Specifically, the training memory cost, FLOPs and Params of our ESA are 18.77%, 20.68% and 74.07% of the SSA. CONCLUSIONS: Experiments on three medical image datasets demonstrate the generality and robustness of the designed network. The ablation study shows the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed ESA. Code is available at: https://github.com/Yanhua-Zhang/MultiTrans-extension.

Synergetic regulation of SEI mechanics and crystallographic orientation for stable lithium metal pouch cells.

The advancement of Li-metal batteries is significantly impeded by the presence of unstable solid electrolyte interphase and Li dendrites upon cycling. Herein, we present an innovative approach to address these issues through the synergetic regulation of solid electrolyte interphase mechanics and Li crystallography using yttrium fluoride/polymethyl methacrylate composite layer. Specifically, we demonstrate the in-situ generation of Y-doped lithium metal through the reaction of composite layer with Li metal, which reduces the surface energy of the (200) plane, and tunes the preferential crystallographic orientation to (200) plane from conventional (110) plane during Li plating. These changes effectively passivate Li metal, thereby significantly reducing undesired side reactions between Li and electrolytes by 4 times. Meanwhile, the composite layer with suitable modulus (~1.02 GPa) can enhance mechanical stability and maintain structural stability of SEI. Consequently, a 4.2 Ah pouch cell with high energy density of 468 Wh kg-1 and remarkable capacity stability of 0.08% decay/cycle is demonstrated under harsh condition, such as high-areal-capacity cathode (6 mAh cm-2), lean electrolyte (1.98 g Ah-1), and high current density (3 mA cm-2). Our findings highlight the potential of reactive composite layer as a promising strategy for the development of stable Li-metal batteries.

Hollow Stair-Stepping Spherical High-Entropy Prussian Blue Analogue for High-Rate Sodium Ion Batteries.

Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) are considered to be one of the most suitable sodium storage materials, especially with the introduction of the high-entropy (HE) concept into their structure to further improve their various abilities. However, severe agglomeration of the HEPBA particles still limits the fast charging capabilities. Here, an HEPBA (Nax(FeMnCoNiCu)[Fe(CN)6]y□1-y·nH2O) with a hollow stair-stepping spherical structure has been prepared through the chemical etching process of the traditional cubic structure of HEPBA. Electrochemical characterization (sodium ion battery), kinetic analysis, and COMSOL Multiphysics simulations reveal that the nature of the high-entropy and the hollow stair-stepping spherical structure can greatly improve the diffusion behavior of Na+ ions. Moreover, the hollow structure effectively mitigates the volume change of HEPBA during SIBs operation, ultimately extending the lifespan. Consequently, the as-prepared HEPBA cathode exhibits excellent rate performance (126.5 and 76.4 mAh g-1 at 0.1 and 4.0 A g-1, respectively) and stable long-term capability (maintaining its 75.6% capacity after 1000 cycles) due to its unique structure. Furthermore, the waste of the etching process can easily be recycled to prepare more HEPBA product. This processing method holds great promise for designing nanostructures of advanced high-entropy Prussian blue analogues for sodium ion batteries.

Estrogen promotes gonadotropin-releasing hormone expression by regulating tachykinin 3 and prodynorphin systems in chicken.

The "KNDy neurons" located in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC) of mammals are known to co-express kisspeptin, neurokinin B (NKB), and dynorphin (DYN), and have been identified as key mediators of the feedback regulation of steroid hormones on gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). However, in birds, the genes encoding kisspeptin and its receptor GPR54 are genomic lost, leaving unclear mechanisms for feedback regulation of GnRH by steroid hormones. Here, the genes tachykinin 3 (TAC3) and prodynorphin (PDYN) encoding chicken NKB and DYN neuropeptides were successfully cloned. Temporal expression profiling indicated that TAC3, PDYN and their receptor genes (TACR3, OPRK1) were mainly expressed in the hypothalamus, with significantly higher expression at 30W than at 15W. Furthermore, overexpression or interference of TAC3 and PDYN can regulate the GnRH mRNA expression. In addition, in vivo and in vitro assays showed that estrogen (E2) could promote the mRNA expression of TAC3, PDYN, and GnRH, as well as the secretion of GnRH/LH. Mechanistically, E2 could dimerize the nuclear estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) to regulate the expression of TAC3 and PDYN, which promoted the mRNA and protein expression of GnRH gene as well as the secretion of GnRH. In conclusion, these results revealed that E2 could regulate the GnRH expression through TAC3 and PDYN systems, providing novel insights for reproductive regulation in chickens.

Effect of Poly(propylene carbonate) on Properties of Polylactic Acid-Based Composite Films.

To enrich the properties of polylactic acid (PLA)-based composite films and improve the base degradability, in this study, a certain amount of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) was added to PLA-based composite films, and PLA/PPC-based composite films were prepared by melt blending and hot-press molding. The effects of the introduction of PPC on the composite films were analyzed through in-depth studies on mechanical properties, water vapor and oxygen transmission rates, thermal analysis, compost degradability, and bacterial inhibition properties of the composite films. When the introduction ratio coefficient of PPC was 30%, the tensile strength of the composite film increased by 19.68%, the water vapor transmission coefficient decreased by 14.43%, and the oxygen transmission coefficient decreased by 18.31% compared to that of the composite film without PPC, the cold crystallization temperature of the composite film increased gradually from 96.9 °C to 104.8 °C, and PPC improved the crystallization ability of composite film. The degradation rate of the composite film with PPC increased significantly compared to the previous one, and the degradation rate increased with the increase in the PPC content. The degradation rate was 49.85% and 46.22% faster on average than that of the composite film without PPC when the degradation was carried out over 40 and 80 days; the composite film had certain inhibition, and the maximum diameter of the inhibition circle was 2.42 cm. This study provides a strategy for the development of PLA-based biodegradable laminates, which can promote the application of PLA-based laminates in food packaging.

Arachidonic acid released by PIK3CA mutant tumor cells triggers malignant transformation of colonic epithelium by inducing chromatin remodeling.

Key gene mutations are essential for colorectal cancer (CRC) development; however, how the mutated tumor cells impact the surrounding normal cells to promote tumor progression has not been well defined. Here, we report that PIK3CA mutant tumor cells transmit oncogenic signals and result in malignant transformation of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) via paracrine exosomal arachidonic acid (AA)-induced H3K4 trimethylation. Mechanistically, PIK3CA mutations sustain SGK3-FBW7-mediated stability of the cPLA2 protein, leading to the synthetic increase in AA, which is transported through exosome and accumulated in IECs. Transferred AA directly binds Menin and strengthens the interactions of Menin and MLL1/2 methyltransferase. Finally, the combination of VTP50469, an inhibitor of the Menin-MLL interaction, and alpelisib synergistically represses PDX tumors harboring PIK3CA mutations. Together, these findings unveil the metabolic link between PIK3CA mutant tumor cells and the IECs, highlighting AA as the potential target for the treatment of patients with CRC harboring PIK3CA mutations.

The APSES Transcription Factor SsStuA Regulating Cell Wall Integrity Is Essential for Sclerotia Formation and Pathogenicity in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

APSES (Asm1p, Phd1p, Sok2p, Efg1p, and StuAp) family transcription factors play crucial roles in various biological processes of fungi, however, their functional characterization in phytopathogenic fungi is limited. In this study, we explored the role of SsStuA, a typical APSES transcription factor, in the regulation of cell wall integrity (CWI), sclerotia formation and pathogenicity of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, which is a globally important plant pathogenic fungus. A deficiency of SsStuA led to abnormal phosphorylation level of SsSmk3, the key gene SsAGM1 for UDP-GlcNAc synthesis was unable to respond to cell wall stress, and decreased tolerance to tebuconazole. In addition, ΔSsStuA was unable to form sclerotia but produced more compound appressoria. Nevertheless, the virulence of ΔSsStuA was significantly reduced due to the deficiency of the invasive hyphal growth and increased susceptibility to hydrogen peroxide. We also revealed that SsStuA could bind to the promoter of catalase family genes which regulate the expression of catalase genes. Furthermore, the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation was found to be increased in ΔSsStuA. In summary, SsStuA, as a core transcription factor involved in the CWI pathway and ROS response, is required for vegetative growth, sclerotia formation, fungicide tolerance and the full virulence of S. sclerotiorum.

Effect of hornification on the isolation of anionic cellulose nanofibrils from Kraft pulp via maleic anhydride esterification.

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) isolation based on a catalyst-free maleic anhydride esterification has proven to be effective, however, the effects of pulp hornification on CNF isolation by this strategy have yet to be explored, which could present significant impacts for CNF isolation. Herein, dried northern bleached softwood Kraft pulp (D-NBSK) and never-dried northern bleached softwood Kraft pulp (ND-NBSK) were selected as the substrates. After esterification with maleic anhydride (MA), the esterified ND-NBSK pulp (E-ND) shows a significantly smaller size and more fragmented structure than the esterified D-NBSK pulp (E-D). Meanwhile, higher degree of esterification can be realized for the never dried pulp as compared to the dried pulp, which is corroborated by the significantly stronger characteristic peaks of CO (1720 cm-1) and -COO- (1575 cm-1) from the FTIR spectra and the higher surface charge content (0.86 ± 0.04 mmol/g vs. 0.55 ± 0.05 mmol/g). A comparison of the characteristics of the resulting CNF similarly demonstrated the negative impact of hornification. Overall, this work indicates that hornification tends to reduce the accessibility of chemical reagents to the pulp, leading to insufficient deconstruction. Such negative impact of hornification should be considered when performing nanocellulose isolation, especially when using pulp as feedstock.

Exposure to heavy metals and trace elements among pregnant women with twins: levels and association with twin growth discordance.

Background: Twin growth discordance is one of the leading causes of perinatal mortality in twin pregnancies. Whether prenatal exposure to heavy metals and trace elements is associated with twin growth discordance has not been studied yet. Objective: To evaluate the prenatal level of heavy metals and trace elements in twin pregnancy and its relationship with twin growth discordance. Methods: This study involving 60 twin pairs and their mothers was conducted in Zhejiang Province, China, in 2020-2021. The concentration of heavy metals and trace elements in maternal blood, umbilical cord, and placenta were collected at delivery and measured by inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometer. The association of prenatal level with twin growth discordance was evaluated using conditional logistic regression. Results: High levels of heavy metal elements (thallium in maternal blood and umbilical cord blood of larger twins, vanadium in the placenta of larger twins) and trace elements (iodine in the placenta of larger twins) during pregnancy, as well as low levels of heavy metal elements (strontium in the umbilical cord blood of larger twins, strontium and chromium in the umbilical cord blood of smaller twins, strontium in the placenta of larger twins, molybdenum and lead in the placenta of smaller twins and difference of molybdenum in the placenta of twins), are associated with intertwin birthweight discordance. Univariate regression analyses showed a significant effect of gestational age at delivery and eleven trace element data on intertwin birthweight discordance. Multivariable logistic regression analysis with transformed variables as dichotomous risk factors combined with baseline demographic characteristics showed Tl in maternal blood as an independent risk factor. The model constructed by combining Tl in maternal blood (OR = 54.833, 95% CI, 3.839-83.156) with the gestational week (OR = 0.618, 95% CI, 0.463-0.824) had good predictive power for intertwin birthweight discordance (AUC = 0.871). The sensitivity analysis results indicate that the effect of maternal blood thallium on intertwin birthweight discordance is stable and reliable. Conclusion: To our knowledge, ours is the first case-control study to investigate the association between elevated maternal thallium levels before delivery and twin growth discordance.

Porous α-Fe2O3 Hollow Rods/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites Templated by MoO3 Nanobelts for High-Performance Supercapacitor Applications.

Porous α-Fe2O3 hollow rods/reduced graphene oxide (α-Fe2O3 HR/RGO) composites with unique morphological characteristics and a high surface area are prepared through a template strategy, which was systematically studied and found to have outstanding supercapacitive properties. When served as active material in a three-electrode setup, the optimized α-Fe2O3 HR/RGO-30, comprised 76.5 wt% α-Fe2O3 and 23.2 wt% RGO, was able to offer the largest specific capacitance of 426.3 F g-1, an excellent rate capability as well as satisfactory cycle life with capacitance retention of 87.7% and Coulombic efficiency of 98.9% after continuously charging/discharging at 10 A g-1 for beyond 10,000 cycles. Such electrochemical behaviors of the α-Fe2O3 HR/RGO-30 electrode can rival or even surpass those of many Fe2O3-based electrodes documented in the previous literature. Later, a symmetric supercapacitor cell of α-Fe2O3 HR/RGO-30//α-Fe2O3 HR/RGO-30 was fabricated. The assembled device offers the maximum energy density of 18.7 Wh kg-1, and also exhibits commendable rate capability, and features stable cycling durability (with capacitance retention of 83.2% together with a Coulombic efficiency of 99.3% after 10,000-cycle charge/discharge at 5 A g-1). These notable electrochemical performances enable the α-Fe2O3 HR/RGO-30 composite to be a high-potential material for advanced energy storage systems.

Poly-(lactic acid) composite films comprising carvacrol and cellulose nanocrystal-zinc oxide with synergistic antibacterial effects.

Herein, carvacrol (CRV) and modified cellulose nanocrystal-zinc oxide (CNC-ZnO) were incorporated into a poly (lactic acid) (PLA) matrix to prepare a PLA-based composite film using a simple solution casting method to achieve antimicrobial effects for application in antimicrobial food packaging. Compared with films obtained from neat PLA, the PLA@CRV20%@CNC-ZnO3% composite film shows better performance in terms of mechanical properties, ultraviolet (UV) blocking, and antimicrobial effects. The PLA composites containing CRV and 3 wt% CNC-ZnO blends exhibit improved tensile strength (21.8 MPa) and elongation at break (403.1 %) as well as excellent UV resistance. In particular, CRV and the CNC-ZnO hybrid endow the obtained PLA composite films with a synergistic antibacterial effect, resulting in good antibacterial properties for microbes, such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Aspergillus niger. The diameters of the inhibition zone of the PLA@CRV20%@CNC-ZnO3% composite films against E. coli, S. aureus, and A. niger were 4.9, 5.0, and 3.4 cm, respectively. Appling the PLA@CRV20%@CNC-ZnO3% composite film as an antibacterial food packaging material, the storage period for strawberries was considerably extended. This study provides a theoretical basis for developing new organic/inorganic composite antimicrobial film materials from PLA.

TP53 mitigates cisplatin resistance in non-small cell lung cancer by mediating the effects of resistant cell-derived exosome mir-424-5p.

Background: Cisplatin (DDP) is the principal agent used for chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nevertheless, DDP resistance is an essential cause for a worse prognosis of patient. Therefore, this study proposes to discover features of miR-424-5p in DDP resistance of NSCLC. Method: After exogenous modulation of miR-424-5p expression, A549 cell activity was measured using CCK-8 and flow cytometry. A549/DDP and A549/DDP-associated subcutaneous tumor model were constructed to investigate the effect of miR-424-5p on DDP resistance in NSCLC in vivo. TargetScan and JASPAR databases predicted the potential molecular mechanism of miR-424-5p. A549-and A549/DDP-derived exosomes were isolated and characterized using a transmission electron microscope and nanoparticle tracking analysis. Result: Overexpression of miR-424-5p facilitated proliferation and DDP resistance in A549 cells, and knockdown of miR-424-5p did the opposite. Knockdown of miR-424-5p enhanced DDP restriction on tumor weight and volume. Moreover, SOCS5 and SOCS56 (SOCS5/6) were downstream targets of miR-424-5p. miR-424-5p down-regulated SOCS5/6 expression to activate JAK2/STAT3 and PI3K/AKT pathways. Notably, tumor protein p53 (TP53) is a transcription factor for the miR-424-5p host gene, as confirmed by the dual-luciferase reporter gene. Cellular and animal experiments indicated that TP53 limited the regulatory function of miR-424-5p on NSCLC growth, DDP resistance, and related molecules. Interestingly, miR-424-5p was markedly enriched in A549/DDP cell-derived exosomes than in A549 cell-derived exosomes, and TP53 down-regulated miR-424-5p expression in A549/DDP cell-derived exosomes. Conclusion: DDP-resistant cell-derived exosome miR-424-5p contributes to NSCLC growth and DDP resistance by targeting SOCS5 and SOCS6 to activate JAK2/STAT3 and PI3K/AKT pathways, which are blocked by TP53.

Development of PEG-mediated genetic transformation and gene editing system of Bryum argenteum as an abiotic stress tolerance model plant.

KEY MESSAGE: To establish a sterile culture system and protoplast regeneration system for Bryum argenteum, and to establish and apply CRISPR/Cas9 system in Bryum argenteum. Bryum argenteum is a fascinating, cosmopolitan, and versatile moss species that thrives in various disturbed environments. Because of its comprehensive tolerance to the desiccation, high UV and extreme temperatures, it is emerging as a model moss for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to abiotic stresses. However, the lack of basic tools such as gene transformation and targeted genome modification has hindered the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the survival of B. argenteum in different environments. Here, we reported the protonema of B. argenteum can survive up to 95.4% water loss. In addition, the genome size of B. argenteum is approximately 313 Mb by kmer analysis, which is smaller than the previously reported 700 Mb. We also developed a simple method for protonema induction and an efficient protoplast isolation and regeneration protocol for B. argenteum. Furthermore, we established a PEG-mediated protoplast transient transfection and stable transformation system for B. argenteum. Two homologues of ABI3(ABA-INSENSITIVE 3) gene were successfully cloned from B. argenteum. To further investigate the function of the ABI3 gene in B. argenteum, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic editing system to target the BaABI3A and BaABI3B gene in B. argenteum protoplasts. This resulted in mutagenesis at the target in about 2-5% of the regenerated plants. The isolated abi3a and abi3b mutants exhibited increased sensitivity to desiccation, suggesting that BaABI3A and BaABI3B play redundant roles in desiccation stress. Overall, our results provide a rapid and simple approach for molecular genetics in B. argenteum. This study contributes to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of plant adaptation to extreme environmental.

Advances in ionogels for proton-exchange membranes.

To ensure the long-term performance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), proton-exchange membranes (PEMs) have stringent requirements at high temperatures and humidities, as they may lose proton carriers. This issue poses a serious challenge to maintaining their proton conductivity and mechanical performance throughout their service life. Ionogels are ionic liquids (ILs) hybridized with another component (such as organic, inorganic, or organic-inorganic hybrid skeleton). This design is used to maintain the desirable properties of ILs (negligible vapor pressure, thermal stability, and non-flammability), as well as a high ionic conductivity and wide electrochemical stability window with low outflow. Ionogels have opened new routes for designing solid-electrolyte membranes, especially PEMs. This paper reviews recent research progress of ionogels in proton-exchange membranes, focusing on their electrochemical properties and proton transport mechanisms.

Single-cell analysis with childhood and adult systemic lupus erythematosus.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a heterogeneous and chronic autoimmune disease, exhibit unique changes in the complex composition and transcriptional signatures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). While the mechanism of pathogenesis for both childhood-onset SLE (cSLE) and adult-onset SLE (aSLE) remains unclear, cSLE patients are considered more unpredictable and dangerous than aSLE patients. In this study, we analysed single-cell RNA sequencing data (scRNA-seq) to profile the PBMC clusters of cSLE/aSLE patients and matched healthy donors and compared the PBMC composition and transcriptional variations between the two groups. Our analysis revealed that the PBMC composition and transcriptional variations in cSLE patients were similar to those in aSLE patients. Comparative single-cell transcriptome analysis between healthy donors and SLE patients revealed IFITM3, ISG15, IFI16 and LY6E as potential therapeutic targets for both aSLE and cSLE patients. Additionally, we observed that the percentage of pre-B cells (CD34-) was increased in cSLE patients, while the percentage of neutrophil cells was upregulated in aSLE patients. Notably, we found decreased expression of TPM2 in cSLE patients, and similarly, TMEM150B, IQSEC2, CHN2, LRP8 and USP46 were significantly downregulated in neutrophil cells from aSLE patients. Overall, our study highlights the differences in complex PBMC composition and transcriptional profiles between cSLE and aSLE patients, providing potential biomarkers that could aid in diagnosing SLE.

Alkoxy-Functionalized Hydroxamate/Zinc Metal-Organic Frameworks and the Effects of Substituents and Acid Addition on Their Structures.

Single crystals of alkoxy-functionalized hydroxamate/zinc metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) were obtained by fixating the hydroxamate moiety via intramolecular hydrogen bonding. The resulting MOF structures depend on the steric demand of the alkoxy groups, whereby the incorporation of bulky isopropyl groups affords porous hydroxamate/zinc MOFs. The topological structures of the isopropyl-substituted MOFs could be controlled by adding acid.

Single-cell disulfidptosis regulator patterns guide intercellular communication of tumor microenvironment that contribute to kidney renal clear cell carcinoma progression and immunotherapy.

Background: Disulfidptosis, an emerging type of programmed cell death, plays a pivotal role in various cancer types, notably impacting the progression of kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) through the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the specific involvement of disulfidptosis within the TME remains elusive. Methods: Analyzing 41,784 single cells obtained from seven samples of KIRC through single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), this study employed nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) to assess 24 disulfidptosis regulators. Pseudotime analysis, intercellular communication mapping, determination of transcription factor activities (TFs), and metabolic profiling of the TME subgroup in KIRC were conducted using Monocle, CellChat, SCENIC, and scMetabolism. Additionally, public cohorts were utilized to predict prognosis and immune responses within the TME subgroup of KIRC. Results: Through NMF clustering and differential expression marker genes, fibroblasts, macrophages, monocytes, T cells, and B cells were categorized into four to six distinct subgroups. Furthermore, this investigation revealed the correlation between disulfidptosis regulatory factors and the biological traits, as well as the pseudotime trajectories of TME subgroups. Notably, disulfidptosis-mediated TME subgroups (DSTN+CD4T-C1 and FLNA+CD4T-C2) demonstrated significant prognostic value and immune responses in patients with KIRC. Multiple immunohistochemistry (mIHC) assays identified marker expression within both cell clusters. Moreover, CellChat analysis unveiled diverse and extensive interactions between disulfidptosis-mediated TME subgroups and tumor epithelial cells, highlighting the TNFSF12-TNFRSF12A ligand-receptor pair as mediators between DSTN+CD4T-C1, FLNA+CD4T-C2, and epithelial cells. Conclusion: Our study sheds light on the role of disulfidptosis-mediated intercellular communication in regulating the biological characteristics of the TME. These findings offer valuable insights for patients with KIRC, potentially guiding personalized immunotherapy approaches.