Molecular imaging nanoprobes and their applications in atherosclerosis diagnosis.

Molecular imaging has undergone significant development in recent years for its excellent ability to image and quantify biologic processes at cellular and molecular levels. Its application is of significance in cardiovascular diseases, particularly in diagnosing them at early stages. Atherosclerosis is a complex, chronic, and progressive disease that can lead to serious consequences such as heart strokes or infarctions. Attempts have been made to detect atherosclerosis with molecular imaging modalities. Not only do imaging modalities develop rapidly, but research of relevant nanomaterials as imaging probes has also been increasingly studied in recent years. This review focuses on the latest developments in the design and synthesis of probes that can be utilized in computed tomography, positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging, photoacoustic imaging and combined modalities. The challenges and future developments of nanomaterials for molecular imaging modalities are also discussed.

Induction of Ferroptosis by an Amalgam of Extracellular Vesicles and Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Overcomes Cisplatin Resistance in Lung Cancer.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) hold potential as effective carriers for drug delivery, providing a promising approach to resolving challenges in lung cancer treatment. Traditional treatments, such as with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, encounter resistance in standard cell death pathways like apoptosis, prompting the need to explore alternative approaches. This study investigates the potential of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONP) and EVs to induce ferroptosis-a regulated cell death mechanism-in lung cancer cells. We formulated a novel EV and IONP-based system, namely 'ExoFeR', and observed that ExoFeR demonstrated efficient ferroptosis induction, evidenced by downregulation of ferroptosis markers (xCT/SLC7A11 and GPX4), increased intracellular and mitochondrial ferrous iron levels, and morphological changes in mitochondria. To enhance efficacy, tumor-targeting transferrin (TF)-conjugated ExoFeR (ExoFeR TF ) was developed. ExoFeR TF outperformed ExoFeR, exhibiting higher uptake and cell death in lung cancer cells. Mechanistically, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-a key regulator of genes involved in glutathione biosynthesis, antioxidant responses, lipid metabolism, and iron metabolism-was found downregulated in the ferroptotic cells. Inhibition of Nrf2 intracellular translocation in ExoFeR TF -treated cells was also observed, emphasizing the role of Nrf2 in modulating ferroptosis-dependent cell death. Furthermore, ExoFeR and ExoFeR TF demonstrated the ability to sensitize chemo-resistant cancer cells, including cisplatin-resistant lung cancer patient-derived tumoroid organoids. In summary, ExoFeR TF presents a promising and multifaceted therapeutic approach for combating lung cancer by intrinsically inducing ferroptosis and sensitizing chemo-resistant cells.

Role of land-ocean interactions in stepwise Northern Hemisphere Glaciation.

The investigation of triggers causing the onset and intensification of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG) during the late Pliocene is essential for understanding the global climate system, with important implications for projecting future climate changes. Despite their critical roles in the global climate system, influences of land-ocean interactions on high-latitude ice sheets remain largely unexplored. Here, we present a high-resolution Asian dust record from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1208 in the North Pacific, which lies along the main route of the westerlies. Our data indicate that atmosphere-land-ocean interactions affected aeolian dust emissions through modulating moisture and vegetation in dust source regions, highlighting a critical role of terrestrial systems in initiating the NHG as early as 3.6 Myr ago. Combined with additional multi-proxy and model results, we further show that westerly wind strength was enhanced, mainly at low-to-middle tropospheric levels, during major glacial events at about 3.3 and 2.7 Myr ago. We suggest that coupled responses of Earth's surface dynamics and atmospheric circulation in the Plio-Pleistocene likely involved feedbacks related to changes in paleogeography, ocean circulation, and global climate.

Injectable Dendrimer Hydrogel Delivers Melphalan in Both Conjugated and Free Forms for Retinoblastoma.

We report the successful synthesis of an injectable dendrimer hydrogel (DH) carrying melphalan, a clinical drug for retinoblastoma treatment, in both conjugated and free forms. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer generation 5 (G5) is surface-modified with an acid-sensitive acetal-dibenzocyclooctyne linker and then undergoes azide-alkyne cycloaddition with melphalan-PEG-N3 conjugate to form G5-acetal-melphalan. During the DH gelation between G5-acetal-melphalan and PEG-diacrylate, free melphalan is added, resulting in a hydrogel (G5-acetal-melphalan-DH/melphalan) that carries the drug in both conjugated and free forms. Melphalan is slowly released from G5-acetal-melphalan-DH/melphalan, with the conjugated melphalan released more quickly at pH 5.3 due to acid-triggered acetal bond cleavage. The formulation's in vitro safety and efficacy were established on human corneal epithelia (HCE-2) and retinoblastoma cells (Y79). In an in vivo Y79 tumor xenograft model of retinoblastoma, intratumorally injected G5-melphalan-DH formulation prolonged tumor suppression. This injectable, multimodal, pH-responsive formulation shows promise for intravitreal injection to treat retinoblastoma.

Spectroscopic and Theoretical Insights into H2 Activation on Uranium Monoxide: Homolytic H2 Cleavage Mediated by Intermediate OU(η2-H2).

Elucidating molecular-level interactions between dihydrogen (H2) and uranium oxides reveals fundamental insights into the intrinsic H2 activation mechanisms underlying processes such as heterogeneous catalysis over uranium oxides and corrosion of uranium induced by H2. Herein, the reactions of H2 with uranium monoxide (UO) molecules have been investigated via a combination of matrix-isolation infrared spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. A side-on bonded H2 complex, OU(η2-H2), is identified at 3733.7 and 800.3 cm-1. This species is regarded as a crucial intermediate along H2 activation pathways. Bonding analysis reveals cooperative U(π5f/6d) → H2(σ*) π// backdonation and U ← H2(σ) σ donation in OU(η2-H2) that facilitate the activation of the H2 moiety. Upon λ > 550 nm photoirradiation, OU(η2-H2) isomerizes into H2UO, indicating the homolytic H2 cleavage on UO. Mechanistic details of H2 adsorption and dissociation on UO molecules have been further elucidated.

Correlation between short-chain fatty acids and peri-implant disease: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: To explore the correlation between short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the peri-implant sulcular fluid (PISF) and peri-implant diseases. METHODS: PISF samples were obtained from implants that have been placed for at least 5 years, and peri-implant clinical parameters were examined. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography were used to detect SCFAs in PISF. The correlation between SCFAs and clinical parameters was analyzed by Spearman's correlation. SCFAs related to peri-implant disease were identified by logistic regression and ranked by random forest analysis. RESULTS: Eighty-six implants were divided into a peri-implant health group (PIH-group, 35 implants), peri-implant mucositis group (PIM-group, 25 implants), and peri-implantitis group (PI-group, 26 implants) according to clinical and radiographic examination results. The PIM-group had significantly lower formic acid detection rate than the other two groups (p < 0.001). The PIM-group had significantly higher levels of acetic, propionic, and isovaleric acids than the PIH-group (p < 0.05). The PI-group had significantly higher levels of propionic, butyric, isobutyric, valeric, and isovaleric acids than the PIH-group (p < 0.05). The PI-group had significantly higher levels of butyric, isobutyric, and isovaleric acids than the PIM-group (p < 0.05). SCFAs (apart from hexanoic and succinic acids) were significantly and positively correlated with clinical parameters (p < 0.05). SCFAs related to peri-implant disease were ranked as follows: butyric, isovaleric, isobutyric, propionic, acetic, formic, and lactic acids. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated specific SCFAs are correlated with peri-implant disease. Recognition of this correlation may help in early identification of peri-implant disease and guide further clinical interventions.

A novel bounded loss framework for support vector machines.

This paper introduces a novel bounded loss framework for SVM and SVR. Specifically, using the Pinball loss as an illustration, we devise a novel bounded exponential quantile loss (Leq-loss) for both support vector machine classification and regression tasks. For Leq-loss, it not only enhances the robustness of SVM and SVR against outliers but also improves the robustness of SVM to resampling from a different perspective. Furthermore, EQSVM and EQSVR were constructed based on Leq-loss, and the influence functions and breakdown point lower bounds of their estimators are derived. It is proved that the influence functions are bounded, and the breakdown point lower bounds can reach the highest asymptotic breakdown point of 1/2. Additionally, we demonstrated the robustness of EQSVM to resampling and derived its generalization error bound based on Rademacher complexity. Due to the Leq-loss being non-convex, we can use the concave-convex procedure (CCCP) technique to transform the problem into a series of convex optimization problems and use the ClipDCD algorithm to solve these convex optimization problems. Numerous experiments have been conducted to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed EQSVM and EQSVR.

Exploring the feasibility of Zr-based metal-organic frameworks for the recovery of Sb (V) and Sb (III) from mining waste.

The present study investigates the efficacy of newly developed Zr-based metal-organic frameworks, specifically MIP-206, and its amine-modified counterpart, MIP-206-NH2, for the re-covery of antimony (Sb) from both synthetic and actual mining wastewater. Batch method studies were employed to examine the effect of waste media pH, Sb concentration, process kinetics, and the performance of the regeneration solution. MIP-206-NH2 exhibited impressive separation capabilities, achieving 102.18 mg/g and 63.23 mg/g for Sb (V) and Sb (III), respectively. In contrast, the pristine MIP-206 reached maximum values of 26.26 mg/g for Sb (V) and 16.95 mg/g for Sb (III). The separation process was well-described by the Langmuir equation, and the kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order model. Although the amine modification resulted in a decrease in the surface area of MIP-206 from 1345.21 to 1169.86 m2/g, SEM and XRD analyses confirmed that the structural integrity of MIP-206-NH2 remained unchanged. In terms of reusability, MIP-206-NH2 maintained up to 90% of its separation performance over 9 cycles, while MIP-206 demonstrated effectiveness for 7 cycles. The regeneration solution exhibited a capacity of approximately 0.63 mol/L for Sb (V) and 0.71 mol/L for Sb (III). Furthermore, MIP-206 and MIP-206-NH2 demonstrated successful application in selectively separating Sb from real mining wastewater.

Biplane Reduction: A Novel Technique for Restoring Fibula Length in Maisonneuve Fracture.

OBJECTIVE: Fibular length is important for ankle stability. Failure to adequately restore and stabilize fibula length may result in malunion, hindering postoperative functional exercises and recovery of ankle function. However, there is no unified and effective reduction method for fibular shortening in Maisonneuve fractures. In this study, we introduce the biplane reduction as an effective surgical technique for restoring the length of the fibula in Maisonneuve fractures. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled 12 patients preoperatively diagnosed with Maisonneuve fractures between June 2019 and June 2022. All patients underwent our biplane reduction technique to restore the length of their fibula. Operation time, hospital stay, complications, FTA (the angle between the fibular tip and the superior articular surface of the talus), visual analog pain score, and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle-hindfoot score were recorded. An independent sample t-test was used for component comparisons, and a paired sample t-test or one-way analysis of variance was used for intra-group comparisons. RESULTS: No patient was lost to follow-up and no obvious postoperative complications were observed. After operation, FTA recovered from 37.52 ± 0.37 ° to 40.42 ± 0.43 °, which was significantly improved compared with that before operation (p < 0.01). At the last follow-up, both the VAS and AOFAS scores showed significant improvement compared to pre-surgery scores. CONCLUSIONS: The reduction technique proposed in this study to restore the length of the fibula in Maisonneuve fractures is simple and effective, does not require special equipment, and has the advantage of directly examining the reduction condition.

Hybrid-index-based array configuration optimization for Michelson interferometric imaging.

Array configuration design is a critical issue for a high quality of the snapshot point spread function (PSF) and restored image in Michelson imaging interferometer. In classic design, the optimized configurations usually address the few specifications and single objective, which is unable to balance the requirements of both non-redundancy and sampling distribution. In this paper, we formalize mathematically the composite metric to trade-off the multiple demands of observation, and propose the hybrid-index-based array layout optimization strategy. The simulation results demonstrate that, in comparison with the typical distribution, the optimized array using the proposed optimization framework enables the acquisition of more comprehensive spectrum information while utilizing an equal number of apertures, providing superior imaging quality in different observation situations. Furthermore, the designed optimized array masks and the compared conventional array masks were fabricated and used for our experimental validation, further verifying the feasibility of this strategy. This array configuration optimization framework may not only find applications to Michelson interferometric imaging, but also provide a positive impact on all u-v sampling-based imaging modes, including radio interferometry, magnetic resonance imaging, and photonic integrated interferometric imaging.

Consistent Intraocular Pressure Reduction by Solid Drug Nanoparticles in Fixed Combinations for Glaucoma Therapy.

Efficient topical drug delivery remains a significant challenge in glaucoma management. Although nanoparticle formulations offer considerable promise, their complex preparation processes, co-delivery issues, and batch consistency have hindered their potential. A scalable fabrication strategy is developed here for preparing solid drug nanoparticles (SDNs) with enhanced drug delivery efficiency. Utilizing hydrophobic antiglaucoma drugs brimonidine (BM) and betaxolol (BX), uniform fixed combination BM/BX SDNs are fabricated through a continuous process, improving batch-to-batch consistency for combined glaucoma treatment. With trehalose being used as a lyoprotectant, BM/BX SDNs can be stored as dry powder and easily reconstituted in phosphate buffered saline. Importantly, reconstituted BM/BX SDNs form clear, homogenous solutions, and exhibit negligible cytotoxicity and irritation, making them well-suited for topical administration as eyedrops. Ex vivo and in vivo studies demonstrated that topically applied BM/BX SDNs permeate through the cornea significantly (about two fold to three fold) compared to their hydrophilic counterparts, i.e., brimonidine tartrate, and betaxolol hydrogen chloride. Notably, BM/BX SDNs displayed consistent intraocular pressure lowering effects in vivo in both normotensive rats and glaucoma mice. Collectively, this study demonstrates the potential of the scalable fabrication strategy and the resultant BM/BX SDNs for improving glaucoma management through eyedrops.

Liposomes-Encapsulating Double-Stranded Nucleic Acid (Poly I:C) for Head and Neck Cancer Treatment.

Polyriboinosinic acid-polyribocytidylic acid (Poly I:C) serves as a synthetic mimic of viral double-stranded dsRNA, capable of inducing apoptosis in numerous cancer cells. Despite its potential, therapeutic benefits, the application of Poly I:C has been hindered by concerns regarding toxicity, stability, enzymatic degradation, and undue immune stimulation, leading to autoimmune disorders. To address these challenges, encapsulation of antitumor drugs within delivery systems such as cationic liposomes is often employed to enhance their efficacy while minimizing dosages. In this study, we investigated the potential of cationic liposomes to deliver Poly I:C into the Head and Neck 12 (HN12) cell line to induce apoptosis in the carcinoma cells and tumor model. Cationic liposomes made by the hydrodynamic focusing method surpass traditional methods by offering a continuous flow-based approach for encapsulating genes, which is ideal for efficient tumor delivery. DOTAP liposomes efficiently bind Poly I:C, confirmed by transmission electron microscopy images displaying their spherical morphology. Liposomes are easily endocytosed in HN12 cells, suggesting their potential for therapeutic gene and drug delivery in head and neck squamous carcinoma cells. Activation of apoptotic pathways involving MDA5, RIG-I, and TLR3 is evidenced by upregulated caspase-3, caspase-8, and IRF3 genes upon endocytosis of Poly(I:C)-encapsulated liposomes. Therapeutic evaluations revealed significant inhibition of tumor growth with Poly I:C liposomes, indicating the possibility of MDA5, RIG-I, and TLR3-induced apoptosis pathways via Poly I:C liposomes in HN12 xenografts in J:NU mouse models. Comparative histological analysis underscores enhanced cell death with Poly I:C liposomes, warranting further investigation into the precise mechanisms of apoptosis and inflammatory cytokine response in murine models for future research.

Advancing Simultaneous Extraction and Sequential Single-Particle ICP-MS Analysis for Metallic Nanoparticle Mixtures in Plant Tissues.

Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) have been increasingly used in agricultural operations, leading to an urgent need for robust methods to analyze co-occurring ENPs in plant tissues. In response, this study advanced the simultaneous extraction of coexisting silver, cerium oxide, and copper oxide ENPs in lettuce shoots and roots using macerozyme R-10 and analyzed them by single-particle inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Additionally, the standard stock suspensions of the ENPs were stabilized with citrate, and the long-term stability (up to 5 months) was examined for the first time. The method performance results displayed satisfactory accuracies and precisions and achieved low particle concentration and particle size detection limits. Significantly, the oven drying process was proved not to impact the properties of the ENPs; therefore, oven-dried lettuce tissues were used in this study, which markedly expanded the applicability of this method. This robust methodology provides a timely approach to characterize and quantify multiple coexisting ENPs in plants.

Wealthy individual investors and stock markets' tail risk.

This paper employs a unique data set to analyze the trading behavior of wealthy individual investors across Mainland China and their impact on Chinese stock markets' tail risk. Results show that the wealthy individual investors' trading behavior can explain Chinese stock markets' tail risk, and the daily investment portfolios based on the network density of wealthy individual investors have significant excess returns. This paper also investigates the determinants of wealthy individual investors' trading behavior with the social network method and the spatial econometric model, and reveals that wealthy individuals benefit from the spillover effect of their trading behavior through the investor networks. The results of this paper not only reveal micro evidence for the formation mechanism of asset prices, but also provide insight into the behavior of wealthy individual investors.

The circadian clock affects starvation resistance through the pentose phosphate pathway in silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Disruption of the circadian clock can affect starvation resistance, but the molecular mechanism is still unclear. Here, we found that starvation resistance was significantly reduced in the core gene BmPer deficient mutant silkworms (Per-/-), but the mutant's starvation resistance increased with larval age. Under natural physiological conditions, the weight of mutant 5th instar larvae was significantly increased compared to wild type, and the accumulation ability of triglycerides and glycogen in the fat bodies was upregulated. However, under starvation conditions, the weight consumption of mutant larvae was increased and cholesterol utilization was intensified. Transcriptome analysis showed that beta-oxidation was significantly upregulated under starvation conditions, fatty acid synthesis was inhibited, and the expression levels of genes related to mitochondrial function were significantly changed. Further investigations revealed that the redox balance, which is closely related to mitochondrial metabolism, was altered in the fat bodies, the antioxidant level was increased, and the pentose phosphate pathway, the source of reducing power in cells, was activated. Our findings suggest that one of the reasons for the increased energy burden observed in mutants is the need to maintain a more robust redox balance in metabolic tissues. This necessitates the diversion of more glucose into the pentose phosphate pathway to ensure an adequate supply of reducing power.

Two new jatrophane diterpenoids from Euphorbia helioscopia with activity towards autophagic flux.

Nine jatrophane diterpenoids were isolated from the whole plant Euphorbia helioscopia, including two new ones, helioscopnins A (1) and B (2). Comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis and ECD calculations elucidated their structures, including absolute configurations. All compounds were evaluated for bioactivity towards autophagic flux by flow cytometry using HM mCherry-GFP-LC3 cells. Compounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9 significantly increased autophagic flux.

Application of fused graphical lasso to statistical inference for multiple sparse precision matrices.

In this paper, the fused graphical lasso (FGL) method is used to estimate multiple precision matrices from multiple populations simultaneously. The lasso penalty in the FGL model is a restraint on sparsity of precision matrices, and a moderate penalty on the two precision matrices from distinct groups restrains the similar structure across multiple groups. In high-dimensional settings, an oracle inequality is provided for FGL estimators, which is necessary to establish the central limit law. We not only focus on point estimation of a precision matrix, but also work on hypothesis testing for a linear combination of the entries of multiple precision matrices. We apply a de-biasing technology, which is used to obtain a new consistent estimator with known distribution for implementing the statistical inference, and extend the statistical inference problem to multiple populations. The corresponding de-biasing FGL estimator and its asymptotic theory are provided. A simulation study and an application of the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma data show that the proposed test works well in high-dimensional situation.

Localized Sustained Release of Copper Enhances Antitumor Effects of Disulfiram in Head and Neck Cancer.

Drug repurposing uses approved drugs as candidate anticancer therapeutics, harnesses previous research and development efforts, and benefits from available clinically suitable formulations and evidence of patient tolerability. In this work, the drug used clinically to treat chronic alcoholism, disulfiram (DSF), was studied for its antitumor efficacy in a copper-dependent manner. The combination of DSF and copper could achieve a tumor cell growth inhibition effect comparable to those of 5-fluorouracil and taxol on head and neck cancer cells. Both bulk dendrimer hydrogel and microsized dendrimer hydrogel particles were utilized for the localized sustained release of copper in the tumor site. The localized sustained release of copper facilitated the tumor inhibition effect following intratumoral injection in a mouse's head and neck cancer model.

Extracellular vesicles: Mediators of microenvironment in hypoxia-associated neurological diseases.

Hypoxia is a prevalent characteristic of numerous neurological disorders including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are minute particles released by cells that contain diverse biological materials, including proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. They have been implicated in a range of physiological and pathological processes including intercellular communication, immune responses, and disease progression. EVs are believed to play a pivotal role in modulating the microenvironment of hypoxia-associated neurological diseases. These EVs are capable of transporting hypoxia-inducible factors such as proteins and microRNAs to neighboring or remote cells, thereby influencing their behavior. Furthermore, EVs can traverse the blood-brain barrier, shielding the brain from detrimental substances in the bloodstream. This enables them to deliver their payload directly to the brain cells, potentially intensifying the effects of hypoxia. Nonetheless, the capacity of EVs to breach the blood-brain barrier presents new opportunities for drug delivery. The objective of this study was to elucidate the role of EVs as mediators of information exchange during tissue hypoxia, a pathophysiological process in ischemic stroke and malignant gliomas. We also investigated their involvement in the progression and regression of major diseases of the central nervous system, which are pertinent to the development of therapeutic interventions for neurological disorders.