4-Nitrophenol at environmentally relevant concentrations mediates reproductive toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans via metabolic disorders-induced estrogen signaling pathway.

4-Nitrophenol (4-NP), as a toxic and refractory pollutant, has generated significant concern due to its adverse effects. However, the potential toxic effects and mechanism remained unclear. In this study, the reproduction, development, locomotion and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production of Caenorhabditis elegans were investigated to evaluate the 4-NP toxicity. We used metabolomics to assess the potential damage mechanisms. The role of metabolites in mediating the relationship between 4-NP and phenotypes was examined by correlation and mediation analysis. 4-NP (8 ng/L and 8 µg/L) caused significant reduction of brood size, ovulation rate, total germ cells numbers, head thrashes and body bends, and an increase in ROS. However, the oosperm numbers in uterus, body length and body width were decreased in 8 µg/L. Moreover, 36 differential metabolites were enriched in the significant metabolic pathways, including lysine biosynthesis, ß-alanine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, galactose metabolism, propanoate metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, and estrogen signaling pathway. The mechanism of 4-NP toxicity was that oxidative stress caused by the perturbation of amino acid, which had effects on energy metabolism through disturbing carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and finally affected the estrogen signaling pathway to exert toxic effects. Moreover, correlation and mediation analysis showed glycerol-3P, glucosamine-6P, glucosamine-1P, UDP-galactose, L-aspartic acid, and uracil were potential markers for the reproduction and glucose-1,6P2 for developmental toxicity. The results provided insight into the pathways involved in the toxic effects caused by 4-NP and developed potential biomarkers to evaluate 4-NP toxicity.

Bariatric surgeries and cardiac structure and function: Systematic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Obesity, a global health problem, is causally implicated in the development of cardiovascular disease. Bariatric surgeries are effective treatment options for obesity; however, the effectiveness of different bariatric surgeries on cardiac structure and function is not fully understood. We undertook a systematic review and network meta-analysis to comprehensively assess this effectiveness. DATA SOURCE: PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE were searched from their inception until November 11, 2023. Studies that compared bariatric surgeries vis-à-vis non-surgical treatment, placebo, and other bariatric surgeries, as well as reported changes in left ventricular mass or its index (LVM or LVMI) or left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), were summarized. RESULTS: Total 19 studies (17 cohort studies and 2 randomized controlled trials) and 2012 adults were meta-analyzed. Patients receiving gastric bypass had appreciably lowered LVM (weighted mean difference [WMD]: -43.86 g, 95% confidence interval [CI] -61.09 to -26.63, p < 0.01) and LVMI (standardized mean difference: -0.67, 95% CI -1.03 to -0.32, p < 0.01) compared with other bariatric surgeries. No significant improvement in LVEF was noted across all surgeries. The drop in body mass index was most pronounced for biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (WMD -16.33 kg/m2, 95% CI -21.60 to -11.05, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings of this network meta-analysis indicated that gastric bypass proved best for the improvement in cardiac structure, and there was no obvious improvement in cardiac function for all bariatric surgeries. Further studies are required to better understand the differing effectiveness of bariatric surgeries on cardiac structure and function and the underlying molecular mechanisms.

TBE-Net: A Deep Network Based on Tree-like Branch Encoder for Medical Image Segmentation.

In recent years, encoder-decoder-based network structures have been widely used in designing medical image segmentation models. However, these methods still face some limitations: 1) The network's feature extraction capability is limited, primarily due to insufficient attention to the encoder, resulting in a failure to extract rich and effective features. 2) Unidirectional stepwise decoding of smaller-sized feature maps restricts segmentation performance. To address the above limitations, we propose an innovative Tree-like Branch Encoder Network (TBE-Net), which adopts a tree-like branch encoder to better perform feature extraction and preserve feature information. Additionally, we introduce the Depth and Width Expansion (D-WE) module to expand the network depth and width at low parameter cost, thereby enhancing network performance. Furthermore, we design a Deep Aggregation Module (DAM) to better aggregate and process encoder features. Subsequently, we directly decode the aggregated features to generate the segmentation map. The experimental results show that, compared to other advanced algorithms, our method, with the lowest parameter cost, achieved improvements in the IoU metric on the TNBC, PH2, CHASE-DB1, STARE, and COVID-19-CT-Seg datasets by 1.6%, 0.46%, 0.81%, 1.96%, and 0.86%, respectively.

Genetic analyses of 104 phenotypes in 20,900 Chinese pregnant women reveal pregnancy-specific discoveries.

Monitoring biochemical phenotypes during pregnancy is vital for maternal and fetal health, allowing early detection and management of pregnancy-related conditions to ensure safety for both. Here, we conducted a genetic analysis of 104 pregnancy phenotypes in 20,900 Chinese women. The genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified a total of 410 trait-locus associations, with 71.71% reported previously. Among the 116 novel hits for 45 phenotypes, 83 were successfully replicated. Among them, 31 were defined as potentially pregnancy-specific associations, including creatine and HELLPAR and neutrophils and ESR1, with subsequent analysis revealing enrichments in estrogen-related pathways and female reproductive tissues. The partitioning heritability underscored the significant roles of fetal blood, embryoid bodies, and female reproductive organs in pregnancy hematology and birth outcomes. Pathway analysis confirmed the intricate interplay of hormone and immune regulation, metabolism, and cell cycle during pregnancy. This study contributes to the understanding of genetic influences on pregnancy phenotypes and their implications for maternal health.

Impact of social, familial and personal factors on depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults from the national CHARLS cohort.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate whether social, familial and personal factors can predict incident and prevalent depressive symptoms in Chinese adults aged ≥ 45 years using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). METHODS: Study subjects without depressive symptoms from CHARLS at baseline were enrolled. Depressive symptoms were defined by the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Statistical adjustment, subgroup exploration and unmeasured confounding assessment were undertaken to derive reliable estimates. RESULTS: 1681 (27.04%) of 6215 subjects who had no depressive symptoms in 2011, suffered one or more depressive symptoms in 2018. Multivariate analyses showed that number of grandchildren (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.06 [1.02, 1.10]), social activity score (0.95 [0.91, 0.98]), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) (1.35 [1.11, 1.65]) and number of comorbidities (1.16 [1.10, 1.22]) were independently and significantly associated with the presence of incident depressive symptoms. Further categorization revealed significance for social activity score (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 0.78 [0.69, 0.89] and 0.71 [0.53, 0.95] for 1-5 and > 5 vs. 0), IADL (1.35 [1.11, 1.65] for yes vs. no) and number of comorbidities (1.38 [1.20, 1.58], 1.44 [1.16, 1.81] and 2.42 [1.54, 3.80] for 1-2, 3-4 and > 4 vs. 0) associated with incident depressive symptoms. Restricting analysis to wave IV data in 2018 observed significant association of number of grandchildren, social activity score, IADL and number of comorbidities with prevalent depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The present study findings support the marked contribution of social activity score, IADL and number of comorbidities to incident and prevalent depressive symptoms in Chinese middle-aged and older adults.

Novel Metal-Free Nanozyme for Targeted Imaging and Inhibition of Atherosclerosis via Macrophage Autophagy Activation to Prevent Vulnerable Plaque Formation and Rupture.

Atherosclerosis is a primary cause of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, with the unpredictable rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques enriched with lipid-laden macrophages being able to lead to heart attacks and strokes. Activating macrophage autophagy presents itself as a promising strategy for preventing vulnerable plaque formation and reducing the risk of rupture. In this study, we have developed a novel metal-free nanozyme (HCN@DS) that integrates the functions of multimodal imaging-guided therapy for atherosclerosis. HCN@DS has demonstrated high macrophage-targeting abilities due to its affinity toward scavenger receptor A (SR-A), along with excellent photoacoustic and photothermal imaging capabilities for guiding the precise treatment. It combines mild photothermal effects with moderate reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation to treat atherosclerosis. This controlled approach activates autophagy in atherosclerotic macrophages, inhibiting foam cell formation by reducing the uptake of oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL) and promoting efferocytosis and cholesterol efflux in macrophages. Additionally, it prevents plaque rupture by inhibiting apoptosis and inflammation within the plaque. Therefore, this metal-free nanozyme holds great potential for reducing the risk of atherosclerosis due to its high biosafety, excellent targeting ability, dual-modality imaging capability, and appropriate modulation of autophagy.

The developmental and dynamic relationship between psychopathology and psychotic-like experiences trajectories in children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The previous cross-sectional and prospective studies have reported that psychopathology was associated with the occurrence of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). However, few of these studies have examined this longitudinal association considering the different developmental trajectories of PLEs, as well as the growth or changes of psychopathology over time. METHODS: Four waves PLEs and psychopathology assessments from Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study were used. The latent class growth modeling (LCGM) and latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) was used to assess latent PLEs class (group) and time-varying psychopathology, respectively. Lastly, the multinomial logistic regression model was used to examined the dynamic and developmental relationship between intercept/slope in psychopathology and different PLEs trajectories. RESULTS: Three PLEs trajectory classes were confirmed: low decreasing PLEs (84.7 %), persistent PLEs (7.01 %) and high decreasing PLEs trajectories (8.29 %). We also found that the intercept of anxious/depressed problems and total problems scales and the slope of social problems were associated with the persistent PLEs trajectory compared with the low decreasing PLEs trajectories, indicating both the early onset and the growth of psychopathology over time are needed to be clinical attention. LIMITATIONS: The CBCL as the sole outcome measure for psychopathology and a widely acknowledged definition for PLEs is lacking. We lacked the mechanisms underlying the current results. CONCLUSION: These longitudinal and dynamic results suggest that future intervention studies aimed at preventing the transition from persistent PLEs to psychotic disorders can focus on both the early onset and the growth of psychopathology over time.

Virus Infection Induces Immune Gene Activation with CTCF Anchored Enhancers and Chromatin Interactions in Pig Genome.

Chromatin organization is important for gene transcription in pig genome. However, its three-dimensional (3D) structure and dynamics are much less investigated than those in human. Here we applied the long-reads chromatin interaction analysis by paired-end tag sequencing (ChIA-PET) method to map the whole-genome chromatin interactions mediated by CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) and RNA polymerase Ⅱ (RNAPⅡ or POLⅡ) in porcine macrophage cells before and after polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [Poly(I:C)] induction. Our results revealed that Poly(I:C) induction impacts the 3D genome organization in the 3D4/21 cells at the fine-scale chromatin loop level rather than at the large-scale domain level. Furthermore, our findings underscored the pivotal role of CTCF anchored chromatin interactions in reshaping chromatin architecture during immune responses. Knock-out of the CTCF locus further confirmed that the CTCF anchored enhancers are associated with the activation of immune genes via long-range interactions. Notably, ChIA-PET data also supported the spatial relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the related gene transcription in 3D genome aspect. Our findings in this study provide new clues and potential targets to explore key elements related to diseases in swine and are also likely to shed light on elucidating chromatin organization and dynamics underlying the process of mammalian infectious diseases.

Observation of Spin Splitting in Room-Temperature Metallic Antiferromagnet CrSb.

Recently, unconventional antiferromagnets that enable the spin splitting (SS) of electronic states have been theoretically proposed and experimentally realized, where the magnetic sublattices containing moments pointing at different directions are connected by a novel set of symmetries. Such SS is substantial, k-dependent, and independent of the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) strength, making these magnets promising materials for antiferromagnetic spintronics. Here, combined with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, a systematic study on CrSb, a metallic spin-split antiferromagnet candidate with Néel temperature TN = 703 K, is conducted. The data reveal the electronic structure of CrSb along both out-of-plane and in-plane momentum directions, rendering an anisotropic k-dependent SS that agrees well with the calculational results. The magnitude of such SS reaches up to at least 0.8 eV at non-high-symmetry momentum points, which is significantly higher than the largest known SOC-induced SS. This compound expands the choice of materials in the field of antiferromagnetic spintronics and is likely to stimulate subsequent investigations of high-efficiency spintronic devices that are functional at room temperature.

Perfluoroalkyl substances and metabolic syndrome: A cross-sectional study using data from the US national health and nutrition examination survey.

Background: Epidemiological studies linking metabolic syndrome (MetS) and exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are limited, and the observations gleaned thus far are inconclusive. The study was performed to explore the association of serum PFASs both singly and in a mixed manner with MetS, and meanwhile to examine whether this association was mediated by serum albumin in a US national population. Methods: Total 8108 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2018 were included. Four PFASs - including perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluoromethylheptane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), were selected. Weighted quantile sum regression was used to evaluate mixed PFAS exposure and MetS. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to calculate odd ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI). Mediating analyses were used to evaluate the mediating effects of albumin. Results: Comparing the highest with lowest quartile yielded a multivariable-adjusted OR (95 % CI) of 1.40 (1.14-1.72) for PFHxS, 1.36 (1.09-1.70) for PFNA, 1.26 (1.00-1.58) for PFOA, and 1.50 (1.19-1.88) for PFOS when associating MetS. Per unit increment in ln-transformed PFHxS, PFNA, PFOA, and PFOS concentrations was significantly associated with 16 %, 17 %, 13 %, and 15 % increased risk of MetS, respectively. When stratified by sex, the significant association between four PFASs and MetS was only noted in females. Mixed PFAS exposure was inversely associated with MetS, and 8.1 % of this association was mediated by serum albumin (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings indicate a significant and independent association of serum PFASs with MetS, and importantly this association was dose-dependent, sex-specific, and possibly mediated by serum albumin.

FCSU-Net: A novel full-scale Cross-dimension Self-attention U-Net with collaborative fusion of multi-scale feature for medical image segmentation.

Recently, ViT and CNNs based on encoder-decoder architecture have become the dominant model in the field of medical image segmentation. However, there are some deficiencies for each of them: (1) It is difficult for CNNs to capture the interaction between two locations with consideration of the longer distance. (2) ViT cannot acquire the interaction of local context information and carries high computational complexity. To optimize the above deficiencies, we propose a new network for medical image segmentation, which is called FCSU-Net. FCSU-Net uses the proposed collaborative fusion of multi-scale feature block that enables the network to obtain more abundant and more accurate features. In addition, FCSU-Net fuses full-scale feature information through the FFF (Full-scale Feature Fusion) structure instead of simple skip connections, and establishes long-range dependencies on multiple dimensions through the CS (Cross-dimension Self-attention) mechanism. Meantime, every dimension is complementary to each other. Also, CS mechanism has the advantage of convolutions capturing local contextual weights. Finally, FCSU-Net is validated on several datasets, and the results show that FCSU-Net not only has a relatively small number of parameters, but also has a leading segmentation performance.

The crucial roles and research advances of cGAS­STING pathway in liver diseases.

Inflammation responses have identified as a key mediator of in various liver diseases with high morbidity and mortality. cGAS-STING signalling is essential in innate immunity since it triggers release of type I interferons and various of proinflammatory cytokines. The potential connection between cGAS-STING pathway and liver inflammatory diseases has recently been reported widely. In our review, the impact of cGAS-STING on liver inflammation and regulatory mechanism are summarized. Furthermore, many inhibitors of cGAS-STING signalling as promising agents to cure liver inflammation are also explored in detail. A comprehensive knowledge of molecular mechanisms of cGAS-STING signalling in liver inflammation is vital for exploring novel treatments and providing recommendations and perspectives for future utilization.

Analysis of the Brucella melitensis epidemic in Xinjiang: genotyping, polymorphism, antibiotic resistance and tracing.

Brucella spp. are facultative intracellular pathogens that cause zoonosis- brucellosis worldwide. There has been a trend of the re-emergence of brucellosis worldwide in recent years. The epidemic situation of brucellosis is serious in Xinjiang. To analyze the epidemic situation of Brucella spp. in Xinjiang among humans and animals, this study identified 144 Brucella isolates from Xinjiang using classical identification and 16 S rRNA sequencing. MLVA, drug resistance testing, and wgSNP detection were also performed. At the same time, analysis was conducted based on the published data of Brucella isolates worldwide. The results showed that the dominant species was B. melitensis biovar 3, which belonged to GT42 (MLVA-8 typing) and the East Mediterranean lineage. The correlation among isolates was high both in humans or animals. The isolates in Xinjiang exhibited higher polymorphism compared to other locations in China, with polymorphism increasing each year since 2010. No amikacin/kanamycin-resistant strains were detected, but six rifampicin-intermediate isolates were identified without rpoB gene variation. The NJ tree of the wgSNP results indicated that there were three main complexes of the B. melitensis epidemic in Xinjiang. Based on the results of this study, the prevention and control of brucellosis in Xinjiang should focus on B. melitensis, particularly strains belonging to B. melitensis bv.3 GT42 (MLVA-8 typing) and East Mediterranean lineage. Additionally, the rifampicin- and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole- resistance of isolates in Xinjiang should be closely monitored to avoid compromising the therapeutic efficacy and causing greater losses. These results provide essential data for the prevention and control of brucellosis in Xinjiang and China. Although the isolates from Xinjiang have significant characteristics among Chinese isolates and can reflect the epidemiological situation of brucellosis in China to some extent, this study cannot represent the characteristics of isolates from other regions.

Design and characteristics of a fiber laser powered repetitive micro-plasma jet triggered gas switch.

To satisfy the need for low jitter in gas switches at repetition rate and enhance insulation reliability during high voltage operation of the trigger, we propose a micro-jet triggering system. This system requires less energy and can use a laser power supply as an energy source. It effectively improves the insulation stability of the trigger when working at high potentials and achieves a good triggering effect with low jitter at low working coefficients. The breakdown characteristics were tested by double-pulse experiments. Ensuring the same operating conditions for both pulses, the pulse interval was varied to obtain the breakdown voltage dispersion at different repetition rates. The results indicate that the dispersion of the breakdown voltages can reach 0.16% at a frequency of 50 Hz with a pulse front of 30 µs, representing an order of magnitude reduction compared to the 1.45% at switching self-breakdown, and decreases further as the air pressure rises. In addition, the size of the microcapillary has an impact on the dispersion of breakdown voltage. It was found that for a range of lengths from 2 to 6 mm and aperture sizes from 80 to 400 µm, the trigger jitter was lower when the length was larger and the aperture was smaller. Furthermore, a trigger life test was performed on the ceramic capillary, and after one million triggers, the system remained stable with no degradation in trigger performance.

Efficacy of color Doppler ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound in identifying vascular invasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: To compare color Doppler ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in evaluating vascular invasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 210 patients with PDAC who were evaluated by color Doppler ultrasound, CEUS, and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) at our institution between January 2017 and December 2020. Pathologic results were used as the gold standard in patients who underwent surgical and intraoperative exploration. For nonsurgical patients, CECT results were used as the reference standard. The vessels evaluated included those in the peripancreatic arterial system and venous system. The diagnostic performances of color Doppler ultrasound and CEUS for vascular invasion were compared. RESULTS: In 51 patients who underwent surgery and intraoperative exploration, color Doppler ultrasound and CEUS differed only in assessing venous system invasion in patients with PDAC of the pancreatic body and tail, with the former being superior to the latter. In 159 nonsurgical patients, there was no difference between CEUS and color Doppler ultrasound in assessing superior mesenteric arteriovenous invasion. CEUS was superior to color Doppler ultrasound in evaluating the celiac artery and its branches, with an accuracy of up to 97.8% for some vessels. Color Doppler ultrasound was ideal for evaluating the splenic and portal veins. CONCLUSION: CEUS is more suitable for the evaluation of peripancreatic arteries than color Doppler. CEUS combined with color Doppler ultrasound can be used as a potential supplement to CECT and is also expected to be used to evaluate vascular invasion of PDAC after chemotherapy. CRITICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Contrast-enhanced US and color Doppler in the assessment of vascular invasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma have their respective advantages, through standardized ultrasound processes are expected to improve the efficiency of inspection. KEY POINTS: Contrast-enhanced US has unique advantages in assessing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma invasion of the celiac artery. Doppler imaging is of high value in assessing venous system invasion. Standardization of ultrasound imaging procedures for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is expected to improve efficiency.

Spectroscopic evidence of spin-state excitation in d-electron correlated semiconductor FeSb2.

Iron antimonide (FeSb2) has been investigated for decades due to its puzzling electronic properties. It undergoes the temperature-controlled transition from an insulator to an ill-defined metal, with a cross-over from diamagnetism to paramagnetism. Extensive efforts have been made to uncover the underlying mechanism, but a consensus has yet to be reached. While macroscopic transport and magnetic measurements can be explained by different theoretical proposals, the essential spectroscopic evidence required to distinguish the physical origin is missing. In this paper, through the use of X-ray absorption spectroscopy and atomic multiplet simulations, we have observed the mixed spin states of 3d 6 configuration in FeSb2. Furthermore, we reveal that the enhancement of the conductivity, whether induced by temperature or doping, is characterized by populating the high-spin state from the low-spin state. Our work constitutes vital spectroscopic evidence that the electrical/magnetical transition in FeSb2 is directly associated with the spin-state excitation.

Screening of active components in Astragalus mongholicus Bunge and Panax notoginseng formula for anti-fibrosis in CKD: nobiletin inhibits Lgals1/PI3K/AKT signaling to improve renal fibrosis.

The Astragalus mongholicus Bunge and Panax notoginseng formula (A&P) has been clinically shown to effectively slow down the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and has demonstrated significant anti-fibrosis effects in experimental CKD model. However, the specific active ingredients and underlying mechanism are still unclear. The active ingredients of A&P were analyzed by Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-HR-MS). A mouse model of CKD was constructed by 5/6 nephrectomy. Renal function was assessed by creatinine and urea nitrogen. Real-time PCR and Western Blot were performed to detect the mRNA and protein changes in kidney and cells. An in vitro fibrotic cell model was constructed by TGF-ß induction in TCMK-1 cells. The results showed that thirteen active ingredients of A&P were identified by UPLC-HR-MS, nine of which were identified by analysis with standards, among which the relative percentage of NOB was high. We found that NOB treatment significantly improved renal function, pathological damage and reduced the expression level of fibrotic factors in CKD mice. The results also demonstrated that Lgals1 was overexpressed in the interstitial kidney of CKD mice, and NOB treatment significantly reduced its expression level, while inhibiting PI3K and AKT phosphorylation. Interestingly, overexpression of Lgals1 significantly increased fibrosis in TCMK1 cells and upregulated the activity of PI3K and AKT, which were strongly inhibited by NOB treatment. NOB is one of the main active components of A&P. The molecular mechanism by which NOB ameliorates renal fibrosis in CKD may be through the inhibition of Lgals1/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

CD19 chimeric antigen receptor-T cells as bridging therapy to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation improves outcome in patients with refractory/relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has been confirmed improving remission rates in refractory patients or relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R B-ALL). However, the added benefits of undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) following CAR-T therapy remain a subject of debate. In this research we investigated the efficiency and long-term outcomes of CD19 CAR-T bridging with allo-HSCT in R/R B-ALL patients. A total of 42 patients were brought into the cohort studies. Our findings revealed that patients who appected CAR-T followed by HSCT had a 1-year overall survival (OS) rate of 70 % and a 1-year leukemia-free survival (LFS) rate of 95 %. Moreover, patients who underwent this combined treatment had higher OS and LFS rates compared to those who received CAR-T therapy alone. In conclusion, the results of this clinical trial provide compelling evidence for the safety and efficacy of using CAR-T therapy as a bridging strategy to allo-HSCT in patients with R/R B-ALL.

Realization of a two-dimensional Weyl semimetal and topological Fermi strings.

A two-dimensional (2D) Weyl semimetal, akin to a spinful variant of graphene, represents a topological matter characterized by Weyl fermion-like quasiparticles in low dimensions. The spinful linear band structure in two dimensions gives rise to distinctive topological properties, accompanied by the emergence of Fermi string edge states. We report the experimental realization of a 2D Weyl semimetal, bismuthene monolayer grown on SnS(Se) substrates. Using spin and angle-resolved photoemission and scanning tunneling spectroscopies, we directly observe spin-polarized Weyl cones, Weyl nodes, and Fermi strings, providing consistent evidence of their inherent topological characteristics. Our work opens the door for the experimental study of Weyl fermions in low-dimensional materials.